Council tax hike approved for city and town

Council tax will rise by the same rate in a neighbouring city and town after their councils approved multi-million-pound budgets.

Gloucester city and Cheltenham borough councillors separately agreed to the 2.99% increase on Thursday.

Cheltenham Borough Council also approved its £19.24m budget, which will see more money spent on the town's green spaces and repairs for the upcoming financial year in April.

Peter Jeffries, the council's finance and assets cabinet member, said during the meeting: "We are setting this budget at a time of real pressure for local government."

The approval will mean people living in Band D properties in Cheltenham will have to pay £252.11 per year, up from £244.79 currently.

Jeffries said the need for services has increased, but funding remains fragile for local authorities.

"I will not pretend that the national system is not broken," he said.

"We must be honest, district councils cannot keep absorbing rising costs.

"This budget is prudent, but passive; it's careful but not stuck."

Meanwhile, the 2.99% increase in Gloucester will result in those in band D properties paying more than £244 over the year from April.

Councillors approved the council's £27.7m budget, which would save the authority from having to issue a section 114, declaring it effectively bankrupt.

The approval of the budget comes days after the council was given permission by the government to sell some of its assets and borrow cash to help fill a £15.5m blackhole.

Councillor Jeremy Hilton, Gloucester City Council, said in the meeting that the council had been "squeezed and squeezed and squeezed" financially in recent years.

He also said the financial crisis the council found itself in was "complex and severe".

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