No increase in council tax from Tunbridge Wells Borough Council

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council has announced it intends to freeze council tax to help residents cope with the current challenging economic climate.

The move, backed by Cabinet members, will earn the council a new Government award set aside for local authorities which are able to freeze council tax for 2011/12. The award will be worth £163,000 – 2.5% of the £6.5m the Council collects from Council Tax to provide its services.

Len Horwood, cabinet portfolio holder for Finance and Governance, said: “The Council worked very hard last year to bring our council tax increase down to 2.5% and as a result we are now able to meet a request by the Coalition Government to freeze council tax for next year. It is a great result therefore that we are able to claim up to 2.5% back from the Government which exactly matches the forecast increase we allowed for in our Medium Term Financial Strategy last year.

“Tunbridge Wells Borough Council already has the second lowest council tax in Kent and we felt we should do even more to help residents in these difficult and austere times. We understand that local people are facing difficult choices, and we hope this tax freeze will go some way to help people meet those choices.”

The tax freeze will go before full council in February, 2011. The freeze only applies to Tunbridge Wells Borough Council’s section of the overall council tax bill.