Coastal councillors highlight deprivation and Christmas trees as North Yorkshire council tax to rise by 4.99 per cent
A 4.99 per cent council tax increase has been approved by North Yorkshire councillors despite concerns about coastal provisions.
A maximum increase in the council tax was approved by members of NYC at a full meeting in Northallerton on Friday, February 13.
The Conservative-led administration said that nobody in the council chamber wanted to make the above-inflation rise, and deputy leader, Cllr Gareth Dadd, said: “We’re living in the real world and you can only play with the cards you’re dealt.”
Opposition councillors highlighted concerns about the impact of the increase on the “gritty end” of the county, including coastal areas, which have the highest rates of deprivation in North Yorkshire.
Labour councillor Liz Colling, who represents the Falsgrave & Stepney division, said: “I struggle every year with the budget as 4.99 per cent is quite a lot of money on a Band D property.
“We’ve also got huge pressures, but I am always assured by the attention our officers and leadership give to council tax reduction schemes.
“In Scarborough and Selby, we have some of the most deprived areas and lots of my residents pay no council tax, so I’d like to say thank you to everyone who supports that.”
Liberal Democrat, Cllr Matt Walker, questioned why the authority was “ending the free provision of Christmas trees and hanging baskets to save £27,000 in a £650m budget”.
He said: “The council’s own equality assessment states it may impact civic pride.
“The budget claims to have no money for festive trees, and yet there’s a capital outlay of £1.1m to upgrade the Filey Brigg Caravan and Camping Site.
"When did glamping pods become a higher priority than our living towns?”
Cllr Gareth Dadd said: “There was a business case for that and it was actually an invest-to-save proposal and I’m happy to talk you through it.”
Cllr Michelle Donohue-Moncrieff, an Independent representing Hunmanby and Sherburn, told the meeting that “the parishes I represent do not have the bourgeois luxury of an upper-tier authority paying for their Christmas trees and flowers and cutting their grass, they live in the real world”.
She said: “So, diddums, if posh people in nice parts of the county are going to have to pay for it themselves, I really don’t give a stuff.
“I am all in favour of people on Scarborough Town Council and Harrogate Town Council paying for this stuff themselves.”
Cllr Donohue-Moncrieff also highlighted an issue with public toilets, stating “that if the status quo remains, we will have a two-tier system where people using a public toilet in Scarborough or Filey are paying, but in other parts of the county they aren’t – that is not fair either.”
Cllr Kevin Foster, leader of the Green Party and Independents, said his group would oppose the budget over a 4.8 per cent increase in council house rents and a high council tax rise.
However, council bosses said the increase in council house rents was necessary in order to maintain an adequate upkeep of properties.
Cllr Steve Shaw-Wright, leader of the Labour group, said: “We persevere, because we’re from Selby — and, occasionally, we’ve holidayed in Scarborough.
“We know resilience. We’ve survived floods, roadworks, and the traffic on the toll bridge.
"Scarborough has survived storms, tourists armed with buckets and spades, and ice cream vendors who can spot a wallet at 200 yards.
“We are tough, determined people.
"So as we face this year’s budget, we take inspiration from both our towns: Selby’s stubborn determination… and Scarborough’s ability to remain standing even when the North Sea tries its very best to relocate it.”