CHORLEY Council is asking for residents’ views on a plan to introduce a 2.99 per cent increase in council tax as part of its budget proposals.

The authority faces a budget gap of £3.9m through to 2022 and it is looking to raise council tax by 11p per week for an average band D property.

Councillors agreed the plans at a meeting on Thursday, describing the decisions they are taking as some of the most difficult in many years and now the authority wants to hear from residents before any final decisions are made next month.

The proposals include a council tax increase for the third time in 10 years and continued investment in major projects to bring income and new jobs in to the borough.

Cllr Peter Wilson, deputy leader of Chorley Council, said: “Local authorities are facing huge challenges in balancing the budget as the government has continued to hit us hard.

“We’ve been able to ride the storm much better than most because we have been planning ahead and as our government grant completely disappears this year we have got three major developments being completed that will all help to generate income for us.

“For 19/20 we have managed to save money/generate income to the total of £1.5 million, which is a huge achievement for an authority of our size.

“Not only that we’ve been able to do this without cutting our services and continuing to invest in the things that matter most to residents right across the borough.”

Council bosses are looking to maintain their current services, create new opportunities for jobs with the Market Walk extension, Primrose Gardens housing with extra care and Strawberry Fields Digital Hub all due for completion in 2019.

Also they are asking residents whether they want the authority to continue to fund PCSOs, and also investing in priorities that residents say are important to them – this includes £1 million in services to support the corporate strategy and £5 million of capital funding that will deliver major changes to parks and open spaces.

“A big part of us being able to balance the books has been the contribution for residents who have been very clear what they want to see from us and once again we’re asking everyone for their input on our budget proposals,” said Cllr Wilson.

“I appreciate that asking people to pay more in council tax is not something that people want to see but the Government is in effect forcing us to do this by taking the grant away and basically saying to councils you need to raise taxes locally.

“We think that what we can offer for an extra 11p per week is worth it – particularly as a lot of our work is around creating new opportunities and jobs for people so they can be better off financially themselves.”

You can take part in the budget consultation at chorley.gov.uk/consultations or by calling into our offices on Union Street.

All comments will need to be submitted by Friday 10 February.