STROUD District Council leader Geoff Wheeler keeps you up to date with what is happening at the council

  • Thursday, January 28 – Council meeting, Ebley Mill, 7pm

I MENTIONED last week that councillors were to approve a two per cent increase in SDC’s portion of council tax bills.

The actual approved increase was 1.99 per cent although bills will show a rounded two per cent figure. Councils up and down the country will be applying this figure.

At face value it looks like we’re using an old retail pricing tactic to make the increase look lower that it is. In reality it’s due to technicalities in the world of public sector finances. If councils want to increase council tax by two per cent it can only be done after a referendum is held and they are costly exercises. In case you’re wondering, the extra hundredth of a per cent equates to less than two pence a year. The way that local government is funding is constantly changing. Over the next few years the government is encouraging local councils to use their tax raising powers to offset the cut in government grants. Consequently you can expect to see increases from your local parish and town councils too. Some may need to raise their tax levels by several percentage points, and whilst the percentage increase may be high, it will often translate into a relatively modest increase in pounds and pence because the parish and town council component of bills is generally less than five percent of the overall bill. It’s worth taking a look at the bill when it arrives in March.

  • Tuesday, February 2 – Garden Waste Collections

Garden waste collections started today, allowing the district’s households to have it taken away and recycled. This is an optional service, with a one-off £20 charge for the wheelie-bin and an annual subscription fee of £36. So far, close to 2,000 households have signed up. With the service starting and becoming more visible we expect to see the number increase over the next few weeks. The annual fee equates to about £1.64 per collection. If you’re interested, you can find out more and sign up at stroud.gov.uk/gardenwaste or call 01453 754424.

  • Housing officers on TV

Over the past few months, housing officers from SDC have been filmed for a new series of the BBC One show The Housing Enforcers. The series started last week and continues throughout February. If you’d like to see some of the hands-on work of the council’s housing officers, the show is on at 9.15am on weekdays. Our officers have featured in four episodes over the past week and will appear in future ones on February 15, 16 and 17. You can also catch up on missed episodes on BBC iPlayer. Hopefully you’ll find it an interesting insight into some of the council’s day-to-day work.