Villagers have spoken out against a parish council’s decision to increase its part of the council tax bill by 21 per cent, after initially pledging to cut it by 6.5 per cent.
But Hardingstone Parish Council said the increase had been forced on it and it would be asking for a formal review.
The authority announced in its village newsletter in December that it was going to reduce the parish precept by 6.5 per cent. But when the bills were sent out, there had been a 27.5 per cent swing.
Resident John Higginbottom, aged 69, of The Green wrote to the Chron to air his displeasure at the rise. He said: “I am astonished, especially in these very difficult financial times, that without any apparent thought as to our ability to find more money, the cost rises by 21 per cent.”
Another resident, who asked not to be named, said their precept had gone up from £116 to £140. They said: “They can’t keep pulling from villagers’ pockets at times like these. It’s not right.”
But Gillian Greaves, the chairman of Hardingstone Parish Council, argued the increase had been forced on the authority.
She said: “We get together every year before Christmas and put together our accounts for the next year, and we said we would be asking for a reduced precept. That is what we asked the borough council for.
“But after Christmas we were told they had a 10 per cent reduction in funding and had adjusted the parish council base, so the number of people we can ask for money has gone down. They’ve also moved the boundaries and the borough council has put the cost of maintaining areas onto the parish council.
“Things which are totally out of our control have hit us, but we’re not taking it lying down. We’re asking for a review.”