'Snow levy' approved by senior councillors

PLANS to impose a “snow levy” on taxpayers to pay for road repairs in the wake of the big freeze moved closer yesterday.

Senior councillors on North Yorkshire County Council’s cabinet approved proposals to impose a higher than expected council tax increase to help pay for the multi-million pound road maintenance bill.

Taxpayers are now faced with a 2.94 per cent rise instead of the planned 2.5 per cent increase which had gone out for public consultation during the autumn.

The leader of the opposition Liberal Democrat group, Coun Bill Hoult, said: “What is the point of consulting residents and then ignoring what they say? This is a snow tax from the Tories.”

However, council leader John Weighell maintained that the planned 2.94 per cent increase, which still needs to be approved at a full council meeting later this month, was the lowest in North Yorkshire for 16 years.

The proposed rise equates to a 1,057.48 bill for an average band D property – an increase of 30.18, or 58p a week.

However, the council is looking at a massive repair bill for more than 5,000 miles of roads after freezing temperatures caused potholes to open up. On the table is a 10m bill for mending the potholes and an additional 9m for gritting, and the council has already earmarked a 1m emergency fund from this year’s revenue budget.

The 0.44 per cent increase is expected to raise a further 1m, and Coun Weighell said he hoped additional cash could be secured from Westminster.

He added: “We are acutely aware of the financial pressures people face, but it was never a possibility to freeze council tax at the current level.”

Meanwhile, Calderdale councillors have agreed to use the general balance fund to pay for a shortfall of up to 1.1m in the winter service budget. Calderdale Council has already spent more than 1.3m keeping roads and pathways clear and gritted.