“Richmond-upon-Thames has the highest average council tax bill in the country, sitting at £1,665 for 07/08, the highest in Great Britain. This is 106 per cent higher than in 1997-98 (£807).”
“The average council tax bill has risen by £918 in South Buckinghamshire during the last ten years from £714 in 1997-98 to £1,631 in 2007-08. The next biggest increases have been in Kingston-upon-Thames (£895) and Richmond-upon-Thames (£857).”
“At £1,665, it is more than two and a half times higher than in Wandsworth.”
– from mortgage introducer’s article, Council tax rising ahead of inflation
Anyone surprised?
Comments
I am surprised at this article as it is more of a Twickenham Online subject and the answers are well known (government grant distribution, Richmond actually being the lowest spending council per head of population, higher average housing bands, etc.). The cited article itself shows that this is not new; councils despite their best efforts have remained in the same relative positions for the past ten years. The formula for funding dictates that this so.
Wandsworth may be a special case; it decided to cut everything to the bone twenty years ago and also has excessive central support.
Trevor Whittall on 2007-06-25 07:55:28 +0000Trevor,
Sorry, having only lived here six years, I was unaware of the trend and thought the stats interesting. But thanks for your comment -- it does put the numbers into perspective.
Peter @ stmgrts.org.uk on 2007-06-25 16:08:26 +0000As a public utility company BT have the right to place equipment on the highway, however, this has traditionally been confined to the 'standard' telephone kiosks along with their green junction boxes. I share the concerns of residents about the size of their new style kiosks and the obstruction they cause particularly in places such as the one recently installed in St Margarets. While the Planning section of the Council have given advertising consent for these kiosks officers of the Highway team have met with representatives of BT to find a solution to the problem. Following the meeting the Council is hopeful that BT will voluntarily remove those that are causing a nuisance (this includes the one in St Margarets) rather than having to take formal enforcement action.
Regards - David
Cllr David Trigg on 2007-07-11 11:45:40 +0000Add a comment