Council tax rise will fund introduction of 20mph zones

A rise in council tax will partly be spent on introducing 20mph zones across a county.

Councillors at Gloucestershire County Council approved a 4.99% increase in tax from April at a budget meeting on Wednesday.

The decision means the average Band D council tax bill will rise by £83.81 annually, from £1,679.65 to £1,763.46.

Councillor Lisa Spivey, leader of the council, said 20mph zones, potholes, and care for adults and children were the authority's top priorities.

Council's funding comes from a number of sources, including from central government, council tax, and charges for services such as car parking.

In Gloucestershire, council tax bills are made up of several elements, with the county council accounting for roughly 75% of the total. This portion will rise by 4.99%.

The total council tax will be higher as it will include police, district and parish council charges.

The police precept, which makes up about 14% of the overall bill, will increase by 5.7%.

Councillors also approved increasing the cost of parking permits for restricted roads from £63.30 to £80, although residents will have the option of paying monthly.

Spivey said the first Liberal Democrat budget since last year's election was "£700m worth of really good stuff".

"We've invested £15m of extra money into our highways to make sure that we're stopping doing those piecemeal repairs.

"We're investing £2m so we can begin the rollout of our 20mph zones.

"There are a number of people who are killed and seriously injured on our roads every year and we want to really start to make that change and bring those numbers down," she added.

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