Council tax set to rise by maximum amount allowed in April as North Northamptonshire Council lays out budget proposals

North Northamptonshire Council is proposing to raise council tax by 4.99 per cent in April.

The authority wants to put up the bill by the maximum allowed by the Government before a referendum is triggered. If means a Band D home will now pay £1,740.22 per year – an increase of £82.71 on this year.

It’s also planning to put up council house rent by 7.7 per cent.

The proposal will go before the council’s Executive as part of the wider budget at next Thursday’s (December 21) meeting at the Corby Cube.

Central government has not yet finalised its funding award for local authorities for next year so the budget is subject to change, but an announcement is due imminently.

The Executive will propose a balanced revenue budget of £371m for the next financial year but are warning they will have a funding gap of £36m in 2025/26.

Many details of cuts are not yet available but included is a proposal to cut grants to Priors Hall Golf Course and make the facility fully self-funding, and to phase out the contribution the authority makes to the Land Trust to fund Twywell Hills and Dales

Over the coming years the authority is also making savings by devolving responsibility for the Counties Community Centre in Kettering and stopping providing Christmas lights in Wellingborough.

The council will also have to use £442,000 from its budget to meet rent shortfalls in its commercial properties. Money will be taken from reserves to pay for a lack of rental income at the former Staples warehouse it owns as an investment property in Mitchell Road, Corby. That property was bought for £17m back in 2018 as a joint ‘money-spinning’ venture between Corby and Kettering Councils.

It will spend £4.8m next year on potholes and a further £3m on road repairs. New street lighting will cost £980,000 and £476,000 will be spent adopting public highways in Oakley Vale – paid for from a developer-funded pot.

The authority will hold allocated cash reserves of £101m and unallocated reserves £24m.

The council says overall it will invest an extra £53.4 million this year into services.

Council leader Cllr Jason Smithers (Con, Oundle) said: “Getting our finances right and working hard to bring financial stability is the cornerstone of continuing to deliver services.

“Recent years have seen challenging economic conditions globally, which obviously affects us nationally and then locally too – so to navigate those choppy waters is really very difficult.

“What we’ve focused on is balancing the budget without significantly reducing services and I’m proud that we have a draft budget that proposes just that.

“I’m proud of what we’re achieving in North Northamptonshire and delighted that we can maintain quality services, which our residents truly deserve.

“To help safeguard the vital services provided to our communities, both now and into the future, we are seeking to increase council tax by 4.99 per cent. However, we also recognise the challenge that the current economic climate poses to our residents. To help those that are struggling we offer a Council Tax Support Scheme.”

If approved by the Executive, a consultation on the proposals will run until midnight on January 26.

Final budget proposals will be recommended to full council on February 22.