The majority of Nottingham households will pay an extra £65 in council tax after the city council approved its budget. Measures in the council's budget for the upcoming financial year, beginning in April, also include the mothballing of two floors at Loxley House and the removal of the wheelchair hire service from the Victoria Centre.
Nottingham City Council first revealed last December that it was planning to increase council tax by 4.99%, the maximum amount allowed without holding a referendum. The move will mean an extra £65.04 for people living in Band A properties, which make up the majority of Nottingham city households.
That figure rises to £195.14 for the top Band H properties, making up just 0.1% of Nottingham households. Labour Councillor Adele Williams hit out at Government cuts to local authorities during Monday's (March 6) meeting, which she said was worth £945 per Nottingham households in real terms since 2011.
Test yourself here and see how many places in Nottingham you can recognise from a bird's eye view
Cllr Williams said: "This has been a very difficult budget, but we have worked very hard to protect and maintain what Nottingham values." Cllr Andrew Rule, leader of the Conservative Group on Nottingham City Council, had proposed an amended budget with measures including a review on the entire relocation of the authority from Loxley House to Nottingham's Council House.
Other measures in Cllr Rule's amended budget, seconded by Nottingham Independents leader Cllr Kevin Clarke, included an urgent review of the impact of parking charges on the economy of the city centre. Assessing the impact on the city in the event that the tram operator fails and a review of the marketing at bus stops were also among the measures called for within the next six months.
Cllr Rule said his budget amendment proposals "focused on the key risks but also the key opportunities" for Nottingham. But the amendment was not passed, with Cllr Williams accusing it of being a "half-baked manifesto". The full budget was eventually passed, with just four opposition councillors voting against it.
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