Ledbury residents face council tax hike

Civic leaders in Ledbury have given the go-ahead for a 27% town council tax increase for the next financial year.

Ledbury Town Council agreed last week (December 6) to raise an extra £101,441 in its precept which will mean a rise of approximately £29.74 per year for Band D properties.

Councillors said they needed to make the increase to ensure they had enough reserves and could run efficient services.

They say some of the funds will go towards traffic safety measures, new waste bins, better signage and repairs to the war memorial and cemetery wall.

Speaking at the meeting, councillor Matthew Eakin said the rise would be unpopular and asked if there was any alternative.

Chairman Nina Shields said it was the only way to deliver services effectively and maintain some reserves to look after the town’s historic buildings.

Coun Phillip Howells explained that the increase mainly centered around having healthy reserves.

“We agreed that if we didn’t have reserves of around £250,000 we would potentially not be able to cover our liabilities,” he said.

The town council also discussed its legal costs associated with the recent judicial review which total £211,000.

Coun Shields explained the council is seeking legal advice to see if it has a strong enough case to recover costs.

“We have spent a considerable amount since the summer retrieving documents. Allegations have been made that they were deliberately destroyed but we can’t present any evidence for that,” she said.

“What we can say is we couldn’t find them. We went back to the solicitors and got the files back from them.”

She said at some stage the council will have to make a decision.

“Is it going to cost us an arm and a leg to try and recover the costs?

“Because if we are talking £250,000 in costs, and it is going to cost us £150000 to reclaim half of it, it isn’t going to be worth it,” she said.

“We need to be very clear what the costs are and whether there is a strong enough likelihood to getting enough money back to make it worth it.”

Coun Shields also said it was their intention to get as much information out into the public to counter misinformation being spread around the town.

Regarding the budget proposals, coun Keith Francis called for a named vote.

Councillors Shields, Eakin, Andrew Harrison, Liz Harvey, Jane Hopkins, Phillip Howells, Dee Knight, Nick Morris, Andrew Warmington and Dean Whattler voted in favour of the tax increase.

While coun Jayne Roberts voted against and councillors Debbie Baker and Francis abstained.

Coun Andrew Manns had already left the meeting before these proposals were debated.