Published: February 22, 2007
Small increase in council tax rates for Burnham-On-Sea residents

Burnham-On-Sea residents will pay an extra £3.93 per year on their council tax after Sedgemoor District Council this week announced its proportion of the tax has been set at 3.5 per cent.

This equates to a rise of just 7.5p a week for a band D property, totalling £116.15.

A one per cent rise on the council tax raises £43,500 for Sedgemoor District Council.

Among the main areas for the increased spending will be extra street cleaning, a major new programme of refurbishments to public conveniences, and making cemeteries and closed churchyards safer.

Final preparatory works with the South West Regional Development Agency for getting a major multi-million pound investment into Burnham and Highbridge are also being made.

A spokesman said: "Sedgemoor District Council previously identified it has a funding gap of approximately £600,000. This gap has to be closed to deliver a balanced budget and the main factors behind the gap are decreasing amounts of money that central government give district councils in grants, the need to put money aside for the increased uptake in concessionary bus fares, and the need to increase recycling rates to avoid landfill tax."