Bristol council tax to rise by almost 3%

The Labour party does not have a majority in Bristol, with Labour and the Green Party both holding 24 seats

Bristol City Council has approved a council tax rise of 2.99% after a second attempt at agreeing its budget.

It means the annual payment for Band B households, the most common in the city, will rise by £42.93 to £1,478.72.

The authority had failed to agree with Labour mayor Marvin Rees' budget during a meeting on 15 February with claims of "interference" from some councillors.

Green councillor Martin Fodor described the final Conservative-Labour agreement as an "unholy alliance".

"This isn't a cross party budget, it's a backroom deal budget where a Labour-Tory coalition seeks to bypass the actual representation across the city," he added.

Green group leader councillor Heather Mack, said while the revised budget had some positives, it excluded several of her group's suggestions which full council had approved last time, including reopening public toilets.

"It is fundamentally wrong to make deep cuts to services like those in this budget while also adding millions to the council's reserves," she added.

Members had been urged by council officers to consider abstaining rather than voting against the budget.

They voted in favour by 34-8 with 18 abstentions, according to the Local Democracy Service. (LDRS).

"Unapologetically ambitious"

The mayor said he was "immensely proud of this budget", saying the council had managed to bridge the savings gap while "protecting the city's worst-off and investing huge sums of money in council homes".

"This is a budget for homes, a budget for inclusion and a budget for decarbonisation. We are unapologetically ambitious," he added.

The local authority's portion of council tax will rise by £55.20 for an average Band D household, £49.06 for a Band C and by £42.93 for Band B properties.

The smaller increases for Avon & Somerset Police and Avon Fire Authority, will mean the total bills landing on Band D doormats from 1 April will be £2,230.37, for Band C it will be £1,982.55 and for Band B £1,734.74.

'Well-reasoned'

Liberal Democrat group leader councillor Jos Clark accused Mr Rees of putting his interests above the city's by cutting a deal that was "stitched up behind the scenes," claiming the mayor chose to speak to the Conservatives "rather than seek consensus".

Mr Rees told the meeting on 2 March his only viable option following the previous attempt to pass the budget was to find a compromise, which he had done.

"There were, in total, 17 revisions to the budget initially put forward - these were sensible, well-reasoned spending proposals and I was happy to incorporate them."

Conservative group leader Councillor Mark Weston added: "The budget isn't perfect but this is a time for pragmatism and responsible, grown-up politics."