Council tax rise planned for the Rochdale borough - have your say on budget cuts

Council tax in Rochdale is set to rise by 4.99 per cent.

The proposal will go before the council’s cabinet next week and be decided at the full council meeting on 26 February. The tax hike and further budget cuts have been tabled as councillors look to make cuts worth £5.5m to balance the budget.

Although there would be no changes to bin collections in the borough, there is a cost-saving method planned to charge £30 for replacement bins. The replacement bins would only incur the £30 charge if that property has already received the same type of bin within the past five years.

The council has launched a public consultation on this idea. Also on the table is changing the use of Middleton Crematorium and cutting funding for bowling green maintenance.

 

 

Middleton Crematorium has a 30-year-old, unreliable, non-compliant, and potentially dangerous cremator, says the council. So the council is considering three options for saving money.

The first option would see the cremator axed, but services at the chapel continue – saving £40,000 annually. The second option is to remove the old cremator and replace it with one that complies with new regulations, at a cost of over £740,000.

The last option is to remove the cremator and use the space to increase the size of the chapel from its current capacity of 55 to around 100. This option would cost around £350,000.

For bowling greens, £60,000 is spent annually by the town hall for their upkeep. Under these changes that would be cut by £30,000, with the bowling clubs having to take on the rest of the maintenance costs.

 

Details of the proposals are available on the council website at rochdale.gov.uk/savings where residents can also provide their views and find out other ways to help the council save money.

Those people unable to access the proposals online can get copies of the reports and leave feedback in writing at Rochdale Central Library, Heywood Library, Middleton Library or Littleborough Library.

Residents have until Sunday 16 February to give their views.

 

Councillor Neil Emmott, leader of Rochdale Borough Council, said previously: “Despite receiving our best ever settlement from the government, we still face a challenging budget situation as do other councils across the country.

“Due to the current economic climate and growing pressures on services, we need to save £5.5 million between 2025 and 2026 to balance the council’s budget. We must continue to ensure resources are used efficiently to deliver services in a sustainable way.”

George Lythgoe, Local Democracy Reporter