Council Tax level for Stratford-on-Avon District

Stratford-on-Avon District Councillors have set the district element of the Council Tax at a meeting of the Council on Monday 26 February.

The amount residents will be asked to pay for a Band D property is £164.12, an increase of £5. This is an increase of 3.1%, which for an average home represents just an additional 42p per month to the District Council next year.

This means that all the services provided by the District Council cost £3.16 a week for a Band D household. This contributes to meeting the cost of providing a wide range of services including recycling and waste collection, planning, street cleaning, housing, housing benefits, leisure services and children's play areas.

The Council Tax from Stratford-on-Avon District Council for residents for 2024/25 for each of the valuation bands is:
 
A        £109.41                        
B        £127.65                  
C        £145.88                                              
D        £164.12
E        £200.59                
F         £237.06
G        £273.53                      
H        £328.24

Although the District Council acts as the collecting agent for Council Tax, it only receives 7.2% of the Council Tax paid by residents. Warwickshire County Council receives the lion's share of 76.7%, the Police 12.8% and Towns/Parishes 3.3%.

This means the District Council only retains 7.2p of every £1 paid in Council Tax to provide its range of services.

Cllr David Curtis, Portfolio Holder for Resources, said: "Local Government finance has never been in a more perilous state. 13 years of Central Government cuts and under investment in public services and catastrophic economic policies together with the aftermath of Brexit and the wars in Europe and the Middle East make it exceptionally difficult to plan long-term. So a level of prudence is required.

"At the same time the funds we hold on behalf of residents are there to work for them, providing the services they urgently need and value. Taking into account the requirement to protect them from future volatility, we should not be leaving more than necessary in the bank, when residents are facing the pressures they do. We also need to maintain and improve our infrastructure and ensure we adopt sustainable and cost-effective solutions that fit us for the future.

"Our budget supports the most vulnerable in our community, it introduces measures to adapt to and to mitigate climate change and actively works to safeguard services against future financial pressures.

"This administration has therefore taken an approach which ensures sound financial management, whilst addressing the priorities on which we were elected last May. We made a clear commitment then to listen and respond to the views of people living and working in the District and I'm pleased to say that the outcome of our budget consultation shows that our proposals are widely supported.

"To give a few examples, Rural services were felt to be important, three-quarters of people agree with our proposal to invest a further £85K to maintain the UBUS service and £28K for Rural Crime Advisors.

"Services for residents in financial difficulty, through our proposal for £250K for cost-of-living crisis was also supported by most residents.

"We cannot be complacent if we are to meet our target to be carbon neutral by 2030. I'm especially pleased that our administration has progressed quickly to implement real and meaningful actions and we are building on this by providing a further £500k for climate initiatives which include £100K for the Community Change Fund.

"Our waste fleet is the Council's largest contributor to harmful emissions, changing to HVO demonstrates our commitment to make this District cleaner, safer, healthier and greener place to live and work. There is a cost, but the cost in year one is roughly 6p per household, per week - a small price to pay to reduce the emissions by up to 90% and again broadly supported by our residents.

"To make the most of the resources we have, we simply cannot continue with business as usual, we need to look ahead and work now to invest and modernise. Our Council Plan and Change Programme will invest in the changes needed to safeguard against future pressures.

"This Lib Dem administration is prepared to lead our communities, listen to their priorities and to act in their interests."

Cllr Susan Juned, Leader of Stratford-on-Avon District Council, said: "This budget has been built around the priorities of our new Council Plan. As we prepare for the future, we need to plan ahead with a fund to deliver projects over the next three years.

"The plan is to improve the delivery of council services, stimulate growth in the local economy, deliver better affordable homes, particularly for young people, vulnerable families facing evictions, those who are homeless and victims of domestic abuse. We also want to support the voluntary sector, Town and Parish Councils and community organisations."

Stratford-on-Avon remains a low-taxing authority, 18th lowest out of 164 district councils across the country in 2023/24.

Council Tax Resolution 2024/25
Total Band D Council Tax

Anyone who thinks they could be struggling to pay their Council Tax is encouraged to contact the District Council as soon as possible by calling 01789 260990 or email revenues@stratford-dc.gov.uk, where the team will be able to advise what help is available.

Following Full Council approval, provision has been made within the 2024/25 budget to fund the following:

Rural communities and vulnerable residents

• £28,000 for Rural Crime Advisors, working with Community Safety Team, to improve response to rising rural crime.
• £85,000 to maintain support for the UBUS service, to protect the vital connection between isolated communities and public services.
• £5,500 for a new pilot scheme in Southam and Alcester for Customer Access Terminals in rural communities to enable face-to-face communication with the District Council.

Staying healthy and active

• £25,000 for a new Leisure Community Instructor to provide targeted support for people with long term health conditions.
• Reduction in hire fees for use of public playing pitches in Stratford-upon-Avon to incentivise more sporting activity.

Cost of Living Crisis support

• £250,000 to continue to protect residents from the ongoing cost of living crisis, providing grants for those most in need of support with energy bills.

Climate change emergency:

• £500,000 extra funding to enable the Council to achieve its carbon reduction targets.
• £250,000 to change the current refuse collection vehicles to the use of HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil) fuel to reduce harmful emissions by nearly 100%.

Council Plan and Change Programme:

• £2.2million to implement the new Council Plan, benefitting residents within six areas of focus, including delivering better homes, boosting the local economy, increasing green spaces, encouraging alternative modes of transport, supporting Town and Parish Councils and their local communities and improving the overall effectiveness of the Council