Lowest Council Tax increase in Sussex for fourth year running

Residents will benefit from the lowest Council Tax rise in Sussex after councillors agreed an increase of 0.97 per cent at the meeting of the Full Council last night.

The rise – the lowest in Sussex for the fourth consecutive year – will mean an increase of three pence a week, or about £1.60 a year, for a band C property.

Councillor Bob Lanzer, Leader of Crawley Council said: “The past year has been tough for many people and I hope this small increase goes some way to helping those who are struggling financially.

“We try hard to balance our budgets to avoid dipping into our savings. This means we are clear about our priorities for spending and ensures the services we deliver represent excellent value for money.

“The reserves we have can then be spent on making significant improvements in Crawley; for example the programme of neighbourhood parade improvements will be complete by the end of 2011 and major projects at Bewbush and Langley Green are moving forward fast.”

Crawley residents’ Council Tax bills are made up of three elements – Crawley Borough Council, West Sussex County Council and Sussex Police Authority.

For every pound paid in council tax, Crawley Council receives 13p, West Sussex County Council receives 78p and Sussex Police receives 9p.

A total of £967,000 of savings has been identified for the 2010/11 financial year as well as £122,000 of additional expenditure on tree maintenance and CCTV.

A new capital expenditure budget of £4.4m will be spent on priorities like affordable housing, flood prevention, neighbourhood improvements, grants – particularly those for disabled facilities, and children’s playgrounds.