WITH council tax set to rise from April, how do the counties in Gwent compare?
Residents of Caerphilly County Borough will be paying the lowest amount of council tax in Wales, according to Stats Wales.
This is despite an approved 7.9% increase on last year’s council tax sum.
A band D property in Caerphilly County Borough will pay £1,693 a year, in comparison to a band D property in Blaenau Gwent which will pay £2,181.84.
Therefore, there is a £488.53 difference between what residents of Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent pay.
Caerphilly Council leader Sean Morgan said: “All local authorities are under huge pressure due to the continual austerity forced on us by central government.
“But, due to the way this Labour administration has managed the finances over the last eleven years, council tax in Caerphilly is the lowest in Wales.
“We will continue to manage the authority to keep bills as low as possible.”
Newport City Council has the third lowest council tax, with band D properties paying £1,712.90 a year, from April.
Newport’s council leader Jane Mudd said: “Newport has traditionally had among the lowest council tax levels in Wales and I’m pleased that, despite the challenges we faced in setting next year’s budget, that is still the case.
“We are facing increasing costs, and increasing demand, but we wanted to set a budget that would protect and invest in the services that residents told us were most important to them.
“Council tax funds less than a quarter of the total budget of £343 million. Most Newport households are in bands A to C and will pay between £1.39 and £1.85 more per week.
“I would urge anyone who is struggling to pay their bills to get in touch with us to find out if help is available.”
Newport Council has agreed to raise council tax by 8.5% from April.
Lastly, Monmouthshire County Council is the eighth most expensive county for council tax in Wales, where band D properties will pay £1,959.94 a year.
