Draft budget which includes council tax rise will be used for 'essential, good quality public services,' Scarborough Council says

As part of its draft revenue budget for 2020/21 the borough authority, which makes up around 13% of a resident’s council tax bill, is proposing to increase its share of the precept by £5 a year for a Band D property, a rise of around 2.1%.

It would bring the total paid to Scarborough Council by borough residents in a Band D property to £239.75.

According to the council, the proposed budget will allow them to "improve the provision of essential, good quality public services throughout the borough and help to provide a clean, safe, attractive environment for everyone".

Cllr Steve Siddons, Leader of Scarborough Borough Council said: “The delivery of good quality public services is critical to ensuring a high quality of life for our residents, businesses and the many visitors that come to our borough each year. Investment in these services is key to achieving our ambitions for Building a Better Borough. The budget for next year reflects this and demonstrates our commitment to getting back to basics and making the improvements to essential services that people are asking for.”

The council’s refuse and recycling service is set to benefit from a cash injection of £1.5m to replace eight refuse collection vehicles that travel across the borough, collecting waste from 58,000 homes a week.

The new vehicles will have "the most technically enhanced engines", helping to reduce air pollution and making the environment cleaner.

The draft budget, which is set to be reviewed by the council’s Cabinet as part of a financial strategy report on February 11, also includes an additional allocation of £120,000 to invest in ‘getting back to basics’ and helping deliver on the promises made to communities in recent months.

Filey will be one of the first places in the borough to benefit from extra cash, with £20,000 being committed to complete the renewal of parts of the town’s seafront railings.

The strategy will be taken to Full Council on February 28 for final approval.