Wrexham set for 5.5% council tax rise for 2019/2020

Wrexham residents are facing a 5.5% increase in their council tax bill.

It follows public consultation on service priorities by the council's ruling Independent/Tory coalition.

The average annual bill for band D properties will rise by almost £77 to approximately £1,475 from April, if the executive board decision on Tuesday is confirmed by the full council.

Chief executive Ian Bancroft said it would help protect key services such as social care and schools.

Wrexham council needs to make cuts of £18m in the next two years on top of around £60m already saved over the last ten years, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The authority will see its Welsh Government grant - which makes up around three-quarters of its £237m budget - cut by 0.1%.

Following the public consultation on savings, the council will carry out a review of its library services, but has decided against the idea of cutting free transport for pupils attending faith schools.

It has also decided not to introduce a £30 charge for collecting garden waste and reducing back bin collections to once every three weeks.

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Liberal Democrat group leader Alun Jenkins had called for a council tax increase of nearly 10% to protect front line services, saying: "We're in a huge financial hole and the hole gets deeper year by year."

But the council's independent leader Mark Pritchard said even the planned 5.5% increase was "going to be difficult and hard to sell" to the people of Wrexham.