SEDGEMOOR District Council has set out its budget for the coming year, increasing council tax by 1.9%.

The council set the figures for the year ahead at a meeting on February 23, announcing the rise which equates to an increase of 5.3p per week on a band D property.

During the meeting, leader of Sedgemoor District Council Cllr Duncan McGinty also announced that, after setting a two-year budget last year, there would be no cuts in the services the council delivers.

At the meeting last Monday the leader of the council put forward the conservative group’s proposals including:

  • £1million ‘Sedgemoor Economic Growth Accelerator Fund’ which will be used to provide loans to encourage business growth across Sedgemoor;
  • £340,000 to bring super-fast broadband to more of Sedgemoor’s rural areas than was originally planned; l £130,000 to improve the health and well-being of the Sydenham community;
  • £80,000 to undertake a number of small flood relief schemes across Sedgemoor – all of which were accepted.

The meeting also saw a number of proposals from the Labour group that were rejected, including setting aside an extra £500,000 aside for the Celebration Mile and £200,000 for Income Generation, whereby the council can look at ways to generate income to pay for services such as installing solar panels on council housing.