East Cambridgeshire District Council to freeze Council Tax

The announcement was made at a full council meeting on February 20.

For East Cambridgeshire residents, the Council Tax paid to the district council will remain at £142.14 for an average Band D property.

The news comes days after Cambridgeshire County Council confirmed that it would be increasing its share of the Council Tax bill by 4.99 per cent.

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At the same time as announcing the Council Tax freeze, the council also confirmed at the meeting that it remains debt free.

It is one of 35 local authorities in the UK to remain debt free since 2021.

It is also the only district, county or unitary authority still in operation in the country not to have put up bills during this time.

Further news from the budget also includes £1 million set aside for black wheelie bins, to improve the recycling rate in the area, as well as funding to support the creation of a new Local Plan for East Cambridgeshire.

Councillor Anna Bailey, leader of East Cambridgeshire District Council, said: “I am extremely proud of the fact that East Cambs is the only district, county or unitary council in the country to have been able to freeze its portion of the Council Tax bill for the past 11 years.

Anna Bailey is the leader of East Cambs District Council. (Image: EDC)

"This is at a time when many other local authorities are increasing theirs by the maximum amount possible.

"In addition to prudent management, interest we earn on our loans helps fund the council’s Surplus Savings reserve which in turn means the council doesn’t have to borrow money externally.

"This keeps our Council Tax charges low for residents at a time when household costs are continuing to rise.”

In a report from the meeting by the BBC's Local Democracy Reporter, the Liberal Democrat opposition group at the district council said they supported the council tax freeze, but said there were other investments they wanted to see.

Councillor Lorna Dupré (Liberal Democrat) said the group’s proposed amendment to the budget would “address a number of priorities” facing the council.

She said the group was calling for the £9million due to be used to fund the “unwanted” Mepal crematorium project to be spent elsewhere.

The group also called for £100,000 to be spent on a new officer post with a remit of helping parish councils and community groups source grant funding.

They also asked for the proposed environment fund to be doubled from £100,000 to £200,000, as they said they believed the administration’s proposal was “insufficient”.

The Liberal Democrats also called for the district council to pursue gaining civil parking enforcement powers, and proposed that £600,000 of developer contributions should be used towards this.

Cllr Dupré said the district council was one of three authorities in the country not looking to gain the powers to tackle illegal parking.

Councillor Mark Inskip (Liberal Democrat) said problem parking was an issue raised with him by people in the area “time and time again”.