Hike in Council Tax after stormy meeting

Mar 11 2010 Kevin Edge

Chase residents will be paying an extra 2.2 per cent in Council Tax next year following a stormy budget meeting last week.

Cannock Chase Council agreed on the increase after the original meeting to decide the rise was deferred because of disagreement from opposing political parties.

The new budget will see changes to the recyclable waste collection and an axing of the dial-a-ride concessionary travel service. The rise will see the average household paying an extra £4.44 per year.

The revised 2010-11 budget will see extra support for families and businesses to counter the effects of the recession and a Workforce Development Strategy to provide extra training for local people

New blue wheeled bins to replace the current boxes for dry recyclables are also to be introduced. The amount of waste recycled or composted in the Chase area has more than doubled in just four years, from 22 per cent in 2005/06 to over 50 per cent in 2009/10.

Funding to identify a site for a new cemetery in Cannock will also be located, with capital funding identifying a new site in 2012-13.

Cannock is suffering from a chronic lack of burial space, with the Pye Green Road facility currently having reached full capacity. But the council said the anticipated cuts in funding from central government from 2011 have been taken into account in setting the council’s three-year financial plan.

A number of services will now be cut or scaled down to fit into the revised budget.