Potential hike in amount paid by householders if plans to make Conwy and Denbighshire into one council go ahead
Original story published by Shane Brennan on the Daily Post online - available here: https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/town-hall-chiefs-warn…;
Plans to merge local authorities could see Conwy residents facing a council tax bill rise of over £80, town hall chiefs warned.
Pentre Mawr county councillor, Sam Rowlands, the Conwy council cabinet member for finance echoed the warning of a potential council tax hike if a merger went ahead.
He said: “There is a difference in council tax between Denbighshire and Conwy and that would need to be made up if there was any sort of merger. Council tax would have to go up for Conwy residents and that is something I would not be very happy about. If a merger does go ahead the Welsh Government should provide funding to harmonise council tax.”
Aberconwy AM, Janet Finch-Saunders, made the warning in light of a Welsh Government Green Paper that wants to slash the number of councils from 22 to 10 and join Denbighshire and Conwy into one county.
Mrs Finch-Saunders is worried that because council tax is higher in Denbighshire it would force a rates rise for Conwy residents.
Band D rates in Denbighshire are £80 higher than in Conwy.
She said: “The Welsh Government’s consultation Green Paper which puts forward these ridiculous proposals for mergers states quite clearly that differences in council tax levels between authorities ‘should not be an insurmountable issue’ – yet this is far from the reality.
“Council taxpayers in Conwy could potentially face an increase of over £80 per year in their council tax bill, if the Cabinet Secretary forces through his plans to merge Conwy and Denbighshire local authorities.
“If the Welsh Government consider £80 a year to not be an insurmountable amount for households, then they are very much out of touch.
Aberconwy AM Janet Finch-Saunders
“Band D householders in Conwy have already faced rises of some £1,009.66 since devolution – and £80 would be the equivalent of another 5% increase.
“Along with the majority of local authorities, I have opposed these preposterous merger proposals in the strongest possible terms, and hope that the Cabinet Secretary will see sense and abandon these uncosted and unrealistic plans.”
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “Local authorities will continue to set council tax locally as they do now, by determining their budget in light of the funding they receive from the Welsh Government.”