Sidmouth Town Council asks for another nine per cent on share of council tax

Sidmouth Town Council is set to ask residents to increase their annual payment for its services by more than nine per cent.

Under the proposals, the average band D property will pay the authority £69.54, up from £63.70 in 2017/18, which will give it a precept of £488,467. Residents’ overall council tax bills are also made up of payments to the district and county councils and other authorities.

The town council’s proposed allocations include:

n Another £5,000 for the information centre, taking the allocation to £26,600;

n An additional £5,000 for the Manstone Lane youth centre, taking the money set aside to £18,000, and for the adjacent sports area it will double to £40,000;

n A new £8,000 allocation for grass verge cutting and £1,500 for additional weeding of the main roads, plus £3,000 for Sidmouth in Bloom;

n And quadrupling the budget for tourism promotion to £8,000.

Town councillors will debate the proposed budget when they meet on Monday (January 22).