Calderdale council tax bills to rise by 4.99%

Households in Calderdale are to see council tax bills rise by nearly 5% after the budget for the next financial year was agreed by the local authority.

The 4.99% increase - the most allowed without having to hold a referendum - is the same rise as in April last year, with most properties expected to see an annual increase of £77.79.

The council's budget for 2026-27 will be almost £283m, with plans to spend an extra £4m a year on road repairs, £844,000 supporting adult social care and £100,000 on boosting fly-tipping enforcement.

Speaking at a meeting on Monday, Scott Patient, the Labour-run council's deputy leader, said the budget gave "hope again we can really make Calderdale a better place".

A majority of councillors approved budget recommendations from the council's cabinet after a debate lasting over two and a half hours.

Savings include £2.7m from budgets across directorates, a step-up in fees and charges and more income from commercial property leases.

Patient warned that although the government's Fair Funding Review would benefit councils like Calderdale financially, there was a likelihood council tax rises would still be needed "in the short term" to enable the authority to balance its books.

He said "hard choices" occasionally had to be made, "even if they were unpopular", and he described the budget as a "positive" one.

Liberal Democrat and Green members said more support for the vulnerable, including restoration of some cuts made to council tax support for the poorest residents, should have been included in the council's financial plans.

Their proposals included axing funding for the trust running Halifax's Piece Hall and a stop to the proposed £60m Clifton Business Park.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Reform UK councillors wanted to see less spending on "subscriptions to political groups" and on "accommodating and integrating" asylum seekers and migrants, and also raised questions about the Piece Hall funding.

Reform councillor Peter Hunt said he believed a 4.99 % increase every year would eventually lead to council tax doubling over 14 years.

"Can you defend that to the family who feel they have to pay more and receive less?" he asked.

Patient said the authority was investing in those areas highlighted by councillors and others, and also aimed to work more efficiently, "full of hope and ambition but also underpinned by prudence and a commitment to good management".

"What is before you tonight is an honest budget that actually balances. It's a budget that is safe, fit for purpose and decent," he said.

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