Forest of Dean council tax to rise this April

Council tax will rise this April for Forest of Dean households

Council tax bills will rise to around £2,200 for the average property in the Forest of Dean.

Forest of Dean District Council approved the 2.99% hike - meaning the average Band D property will have to pay £5.97 more from April for its services.

Free parking for up to an hour across towns was also agreed on 22 February.

The council is facing a funding gap of £2.8m by 2028 and is trying to balance its books.

Band D properties should expect to be charged approximately £2,200 as council tax to pay for the services of the district council, Gloucestershire County Council and Gloucestershire Police and Crime Commissioner.

The district council also approved its budget for the upcoming financial year, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Councillors initially considered a hike of up to 300% for the minimum charge for a two hour stay as part of their budget proposals.

But they performed a U-turn on plans to hike the minimum charge and will now abolish it for the first hour.

However, parking charges will still increase from 50p to £1 for two hours, from £1 to £2 for up to three hours and from £1.50 to £3 for four hours.

Stays of more than four hours will increase in cost from £2 to £4.

'Very real risk'

Councillor, Andy Moore, who is the cabinet member for finance on the council, said in the meeting that the council responded to residents' feedback for changes to parking charges.

"The car parks should more than break even and please be reassured any surplus would be reinvested into car park improvements," he said.

"Forestry England, Herefordshire, Monmouthshire, Cotswolds and Stroud all charge comparable or greater fees for parking than we are currently setting for the Forest."

He added the final settlement from the government means they will receive an extra £9,660 which will be put into the budget deficit reserve.

Councillor Philip Burford said the budget leaves the authority with future risk.

"It's balanced for this year, absolutely right," he said.

"The question is how is it going to be made to balance next year, and the year after and the year after that.

"What we need is a really good strategy for the future.

"What we don't want to be accused of is fiddling while Rome burns.

"This is a very real risk at the moment that in five years' time we will have to sell assets."

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