Amber Valley Borough Council tax rise of 2.99% approved

Amber Valley Borough Council approved the plans on Monday

Amber Valley Borough Council has approved a 2.99% council tax rise in a bid to avoid missing out on future government funding.

Council leader Chris Emmas-Williams told a meeting on Monday this was "not an easy decision".

He criticised the continued lack of a multi-year local government funding agreement, adding this had made it impossible to plan ahead.

The authority received £125,000, but with "strings attached", he said.

Of the maximum tax increase, Mr Emmas-Williams said: "We don't like it but we have been forced down that road."

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) also reported his concerns about the requirement for the council to provide separate weekly food waste collections by April 2026.

Mr Emmas-Williams said increasing council tax by the maximum allowed was not an "easy decision"

The Labour-led authority is to receive £1.2m from the government, however its council leader says this "goes nowhere near what we need" to acquire new vehicles, bins and containers.

Ben Bellamy, a Belper independent councillor, said the authority was left with "absolutely no choice but to go for the maximum".

Alison McDermott, a councillor from the Green Party, said the authority needed to look at ways to "spend to save".

This forms about 10% of the overall council tax bill, most of which goes to Derbyshire County Council (4.99%), followed by the police (4.88%), fire service (2.99%) and in some areas, town or parish councils.

Overall, Band B homeowners can expect a total council tax bill of about £1,700 and Band D homeowners about £2,100.

A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC), said: "We recently announced a £600m support package for councils which will increase overall funding to £64.7bn for the upcoming financial year - a 7.5% increase in cash terms. "Councils are responsible for their finances and decisions on council tax do not affect councils' ability to bid for funding outside of the local government financial settlement, but we stand ready to talk to any concerned about its financial position. It is the government's intention to return to multi-year settlements in the next Parliament."