Kensington and Chelsea plans to defy the wave of council tax hikes facing most Londoners and has recommended issuing rebates to thousands of residents.
Leaders at the UK’s richest local authority have laid out plans to freeze their part of council tax and to make a one-off £100 payment to all households in Bands A to D.
The flagship Conservative town hall has endorsed a 2 per cent rise to fund social care, but has proposed not adding the extra 3 per cent it is allowed to this year to pay for general council costs.
It has also suggested using £1.7million of funds to pay some 17,000 households £100 each if they are not eligible for existing support grants.
It means the average home in the borough will pay £1,422.40 a year from April, including the Mayor of London’s share of the bill - which Sadiq Khan increased by £38.55 this year - to pay for the Met Police, fire brigade and transport services.
But with a £100 rebate it means households in Bands A to D in the borough will be at least £42 a year better off.
The council said the proposals would help families through the cost of living crisis.
Johnny Thalassites, Lead Member for Finance and Customer Delivery, said: “Our priority here in Kensington and Chelsea is to keep taxes and costs down for local residents wherever possible and to protect essential services.”
While Croydon residents will be hit by a record 15 per cent rise in bills, those in Tower Hamlets and Westminster will see their payments go up by just two per cent.
The majority of Londoners face a five per cent hike in their council tax from April as town halls seek to balance their books.
Kensington and Chelsea and Hammersmith and Fulham residents have the highest gross disposable household income per head in the UK at £60,277, according to the latest Office for National Statistics data.
But the borough also has some some pockets of significant deprivation - in some areas almost 40 per cent of residents experience poverty due to low incomes and high living costs.
A spokesman for Kensington and Chelsea said its rebate and council tax proposals will be voted on at a full council on March 1.
