Wealden freezes its share of the council tax

“The Coronavirus crisis has increased the pressure for Council services from residents who rely on the safety net provided by local government,” said Councillor Bob Standley, Leader of Wealden District Council. “The impact it has had on local economy and businesses is something we have never experienced before. It is vital we have the resources to be able to help with the economic and social recovery of the District. But we do not want to increase the financial burden on households, many of whom have faced increased hardships.

“That is why we have decided to freeze the Wealden District Council’s element of your council tax bill for the coming year. Other public organisations are having to increase the amount of money they seek from council tax.

“The fact that we can freeze the Wealden part of the council tax bill is thanks to many years of careful financial management. Additional Government support has gone some way to meet the extra costs we have faced. We are freezing pay for all but the lowest paid Council employees, and freezing Councillors’ allowances.

Restart & Recovery

“This month we updated our ambitious Covid Restart and Recovery Plan for Wealden. We have identified six strategic objectives essential to the District. The first two of these are to support existing businesses, which have been forced to temporarily close, and create the conditions to encourage new businesses to open in Wealden. The Plan also includes:

• Helping the owners and employees of closed business to find new employment.
• Encouraging communities to make positive changes to promote physical and mental wellbeing.
• Building on the strengths of our community and voluntary groups which have proved so important over the past year.
• Continuing to support the most vulnerable in our community.

“We have already made sure that more than £48 million has been paid out to local businesses. The Council is looking forward to continuing the work of Restart and Recovery in the year ahead.”

Here is how an average Band D council taxpayer will contribute to a range of public services over the coming year: