Council tax rise for Chichester district households backed

Chichester District Council’s portion of the council tax bill is expected to rise by £5 in April.
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If approved by the full council on Tuesday (March 8), the increase will see Band D bills rise from £170.81 to £175.81.

This is before the county council precept of £1,555.74 and another £224.91 for Sussex Police is added.

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The rise was recommended during a meeting of the cabinet on Tuesday (March 1) along with a net budget requirement of just over £15m.

East Pallant House, Chichester. Pic Steve Robards SR2007221 SUS-200722-111704001East Pallant House, Chichester. Pic Steve Robards SR2007221 SUS-200722-111704001
East Pallant House, Chichester. Pic Steve Robards SR2007221 SUS-200722-111704001
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For the second year, members also recommended that money – just over £576k – be taken from the general fund reserve to plug a gap in the budget.

Peter Wilding, cabinet member for finance, said the pandemic was still making it ‘challenging’ for income to be predicted.

Mr Wilding told the meeting that increasing council tax would ‘help to offset the continued reduction of government funding’.

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He added: “This modest increase will generate an extra £275,200 a year and assist in closing the budget deficit.

“Not to approve this would make the task of rebalancing our budget following the continued impact of the pandemic even more difficult and could ultimately lead to reductions in service provision.”

The capital programme for 2022/23 – large one-off projects outside the day-to-day running of the council and its services – stands at just over £20m.

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Mr Wilding said all projects included in the programme had already been approved by the cabinet.

They include £3.7m for the refurbishment and replacement of units at St. James Industrial Estate; and £3.7m for various housing grants including Disabled Facilities Grants and Affordable Housing Grants.

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