COUNCIL tax is set to rise in Wyre Forest now that budgets have been set.

All bodies funded through council tax have raised their charges by varying amounts for the 2023-24 year.

For Band D properties, Worcestershire County Council has raised their share by £69, or 4.94 per cent, West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner by £14.84, or 5.94 per cent, Hereford and Worcester Fire Authority by £5, or 5.59 per cent, Wyre Forest District Council by £6.87, or just under 3 per cent, and Parish/Town Council (average) by £4.28, or 9.23 per cent rise.

It's an overall average increase of £99.99 or 4.97 per cent a year for Wyre Forest properties in Band D.

Exact increases will range from 4.76 per cent to 5.66 per cent depending on which town or parish residents live in.

Wyre Forest District Council set its budget for 2023-24 at the full council meeting on Wednesday, February 22. 

Initiatives approved in the budget for the year were Community Leadership Funding, giving councillors £1,000 each to support worthwhile initiatives, projects and activities of their choice, funding for two additional enforcement officers for two years and funding to increase litter picking in Stourport and Bewdley over the summer months.

A community fund to provide grants of up to £500 to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III, a new grant fund for town councils to provide arts events and investment in the council’s ICT strategy has also been approved.

Councillor Mary Rayner Wyre Forest District Council’s cabinet member for finance and capital portfolio said: “We send out the council tax bills, but we keep only 11 pence in every £1 we collect. The rest of the money is passed on to county, town or parish councils and the blue light services.

“We will continue to look for more efficient ways of doing things and are keen to continue to grow our income so we keep any future increases to a minimum".