A Budget To Turn Challenge Into Opportunity For BCP Council

Residents of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole will once again see no increase on the core part of their Council Tax bills, following Full Council on 22 February 2022 agreeing the budget for the financial year 2022/23.

To help the most vulnerable people, the council has decided to collect the 4% Adult Social Care element of the bills, much of which was delayed from last year so as to keep more money in the pockets of Council Taxpayers. The Adult Social Care precept equates to an increase of just 17p a day for those living in a Band D property.

This means residents of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole have experienced one of the lowest Council Tax increases anywhere in the country over the past two years, with over £11 million in Council Tax savings. This now puts a band D property's 2022/23 bill at £1,603.23.

Collecting the Adult Social Care portion will only make a small contribution to those critical services, so an additional investment of more than £24 million has been allocated towards protecting and supporting the people who need help the most.

Other investments being made include: £20 million towards tackling climate agenda; £5 million towards regeneration opportunities, street cleansing, community safety initiatives and Festival Coast Live!; £8.2 million for the Cleaner, Greener, Safer programme, essential road maintenance and £1.5 million to improve customer service.

Council Tax Bills will be arriving through letterboxes in the coming weeks.