A RISE in Council Tax of almost three per cent and savings of more than £14m have been rubber-stamped by Cheshire West and Chester councillors.

Members met at Chester Racecourse Pavilion to approve the rise, which will see council tax increase by 2.99 per cent, an extra 95 pence per week, on a Band D property, taking the full cost to £1,709.23 a year.

The borough’s Conservative group accused the ruling Labour administration of wanting to ‘tax to the max’ and proposed an amendment to the budget for a smaller rise of 1.99 per cent, but that was rejected.

The council also approved a raft of cost savings, with £14.3m required in 2022-23 and a combined £30.8m over the next three years.

Cllr Carol Gahan (Labour), cabinet member for legal and finance, said  “This is not the time to forget 12 years of underfunding by central government, with about 60p in every pound the council used to receive in funding has been stripped away in the name of austerity.

“If we’d have had that money, we’d have had around £530m more to spend now than we would have had, but we can’t let that underfunding define the future for our borough.

“This Labour administration is looking forward to deliver an ambitious budget in 2022-23 for our residents and business and provide hope for the future.”

Cllr Neil Sullivan (Conservative), shadow cabinet member for legal and finance, said: “Sadly this is just another case of Labour wanting to tax to the max.

“In the last four years, despite all the talk of austerity and cuts, council spend has gone up from £275m to nearly £345m per annum, a massive increase.”

He added: “Many areas of under performance are not dealt with. Sadly it is more tax and waste.”

He tabled an amendment on behalf of the Conservative group to reduce the planned rise by one per cent and produce more cost savings, which would include closing office buildings with ‘few staff’ in them as well as reducing investment in Chester Park and Ride by £500k a year. Savings would also be made when Vivo care choices are brought back under local authority control, and by reductions in the council’s general contingency fund.

But Cllr Richard Beacham (Labour) branded the Conservative plan ‘anti-community, anti-sustainable transport and anti-social care'.

Cllr Paul Roberts, Liberal Democrat leader, added: “I think we have to deal with realities. The proposed (Conservative) savings I’m afraid make me extremely nervous. We talk about asset rationalisation, either you’re going to be closing buildings or selling them off, regardless of the market.”

The Conservative amendment was voted down by 35 to 26 with three abstentions, with the final budget being voted through by 36 to 27 with one abstention.

The government had set a threshold for council tax rises of two per cent, after which a local referendum would have to be called. But the 2.99 per cent figure is comprised of a 1.99 per cent rise, with an additional one per cent for adult social care.