Rise in council tax for South Ribble residents

Councillors voted to pass an amended version of the initial budget which had been tabled by the ruling Conservative party at the meeting on Wednesday.

For householders, the rise will mean an increase of £6.23 a year – for an average Band D property. Bosses at the authority say it will raise £221,000 towards investing in the borough’s future.

The £13m annual budget underpins the council’s new a five-year plan detailing plans for the area and how the council will deliver them.

Over the next five years, the council will invest more than £42m in improving services for residents and transforming the way the council works.

Coun Peter Mullineaux, leader of South Ribble Council, said: “This year we are announcing much more than an annual budget for South Ribble – we are announcing our vision for the future, and a five-year plan of how we will get there.

“We want South Ribble to be a place with high employment, good schools, with access to affordable homes, high life expectancy, and a place where people feel safe.”

But the meeting, which went on for over four hours, saw some wrangling before the budget was voted through.

Chief executive Heather McManus had to advise group leaders to identify areas they could agree on.

After the meeting, leader of the opposition Paul Foster, of the Labour party, says he will be put forward a motion of no confidence in the leader of the council.

Meanwhile Independent Coun Paul Wharton is calling on central government to intervene as he says he believes the way the new budget was passed is open to legal challenge. The council said correct procedures were followed.