THE Vale of Glamorgan Council has agreed a 3.9% increase in council tax for the following year.
At a full council meeting on Thursday March 10, the Vale accepted proposals for the rise, which could see bills for the average family increasing by about £42 per year.
Coun Neil Moore, Leader of the Vale of Glamorgan Council said: “As the cuts imposed by central government continue to bite deeper into council budgets, the task of balancing the need to protect the most important of our services ad to limit the increase in council tax become ever more difficult.
“To cover the cost of this year’s £3.3m cut in Welsh Government funding alone would have required an increase in council tax of 5.5%. On top of this a combination of increased demand, increasing legislative requirements, and cost pressures has caused the cost of delivering our services to have risen by over £8m.
“Despite these unprecedented challenges, and due in large part to the £9.2m of savings we will achieve by redesigning our services to be more cost efficient, the Council will next year be providing an extra £1.6m to the Vale’s schools and an extra £2.2m to provide care and support to the most vulnerable groups in our society through social services.
“All of this will be achieved despite the Council operating with a reduced budget and while still keeping the council tax for the Vale of Glamorgan below the Welsh average and limiting the increase to the average band D home to less than £1 per week.”
Council tax in Wales is calculated using nine valuation bands (between A and I) that were established in 2005 using 2003 house values. Information on the banding of your house can be found at the Welsh Government website.
The lowest value band A properties in Barry (valued below £44,000) have gone from owing £772.22 council tax in 2012/13, to £913.58 in 2016/17.
Band I properties (£424,001 and above) in Barry will have to pay £3,197.54 council tax in 2016/17 – almost £500 more than the £2,702.79 required in 2012/13.
It is a similar story for Penarth residents. Council tax on band A properties has risen from £771.45 to £919.60 in five financial years, whilst tax on Band I properties has increased from £2,703.61 to £3,218.61.
As an average home owner in a band D property, you will have to pay £1370.37 in Barry and £1379.40 in Penarth this year.
Interactive graphs covering all valuation bands can be found here.
