Councils’ efforts to keep tax down
RESIDENTS in Maidstone could be looking forward to a council tax hat trick if the lead- ers of the borough and county councils get their sums right. KCC leader Paul Carter has
said he is determined to freeze the council tax bill for the third consecutive year, despite pres- sure from national spending cuts, while Maidstone Council leader Chris Garland isworking out how Maidstone can keep costs down to a minimum. Maidstone has managed to
freeze the council tax for two years, from savings and a guar- anteed grant from central gov- ernment. However, it will be December before the council learns if the Government is pre- pared to make the same sup- porting grant for 2013/14. Cllr Garland said: “We are
going through the council’s budget at present and will need to save about £1.1m. Whatever the grant will be, if any,wewill be seeking tominimise asmuch as possible any council tax in- crease for next year.” An increase of 2.5% in MBC council tax would cost taxpay- ers an additional £5.56 a year on an average Band D property, whilst an identical KCC in- crease would cost £26.19 on an average Band D property.
KCC has launched an eight-
week public consultation on the county’s budget proposals for 2013, which prioritise boosting the Kent economy in the year ahead, while focussing on young people, employment and job creation, and support for the vulnerable and people in need. Cllr Carter said: “It would be
the easiest thing to bow to po- litical pressure to leave services unchanged or spend ‘more on
this and more on that’ but that only leads to soaring council tax and poorer services. “It is pointless to pretend the
money will keep rolling in from taxpayers to see the same old services in the same old way. It won’t. In almost every area of life, people are working differ- ently or using new technology to make things easier. Councils must do that too.” Mr Carter admits that tough de-
cisions have to be taken, and has set out in clear terms where the council plans to make savings. If the county council did not
make savings, in four years time it would need a 42% rise in council tax to keep services run- ning at present levels. Residents have until Thurs-
day, November 1, to give their views on the proposals, before members take the final decision on the budget in early 2013.
Homes plan will benefit play area
USERS of the play area at Col- lis Millennium Green in Maid- stone stand to benefit from the development of 33 affordable homes at a former car show- room site in George Street, Maidstone. Maidstone Council granted planning permission for Hyde Housing to build two blocks of terraces – containing 16 homes – accessed from George Street and a four-storey block of 17 flats accessed from Salem Street and Orchard Street. Members agreed that the scheme should go ahead, on the proviso that the developer’s £52,000 contribution, as part of a Section 106 agreement, was firstly spent on enhancement,
maintenance and repair of play equipment in Collis Millen- nium Green. This was created in 2000 and is looked after by local volunteers and members of the Collis Millennium Trust. Remaining money would
then be filtered down to make similar improvements to South
Park and thenMote Park. An officer report recom- mending the development said: “The juxtaposition of a four-storey block to a two- storey dwelling has been achieved with a large glazed panel, which projects from the building, creating a clear break.” The design of the terraces in- cludes features such as soldier brick courses, porches, gables, chimneys and dormers within the roofslope. The flats will be more con- temporary, with balconies, re- cessed and projecting windows. There will be one parking space per dwelling.
open days
2012 Oakwood Park,
Maidstone, Kent ME16 8AH Telephone: 01622 726683
www.opgs.org
K. W. Moody
SPECIALIST COLLEGE IN MATHEMATICS & COMPUTING AND HUMANITIES
open evening
Tuesday 2nd October 4 - 8pm talks from the Head at 5.30 & 7.30
an exceptional learning experience
A Level Results 2012 60% A* to B GCSE Results 2012 52% A* to A
open mornings 9 - 11am Friday 5th October
Tues-Wed 9th & 10th October
sixth form evening Thursday 8th November 6 - 9pm
“Outstanding personal development” OFSTED
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