How much council tax will go up in Oldham - plus other changes
Oldham Council is increasing council tax by the maximum amount to address a £14m budget shortfall, despite receiving an additional £5m from the government. The increase will raise bills by £77 to £1,628 for the lowest tax band and £232 to £4,883 for the highest. Other measures include freezing waste collection charges but introducing a fee for recycling bin replacements, raising service charges by 4.5%, and cutting costs in social care and athletics facilities.
Oldham Council will push council tax to the legal limit and impose sweeping service cuts after discovering a £14 million shortfall in this year’s accounts, despite an unexpected £5 million boost from Whitehall.
Finance chiefs confirmed the band-D bill will jump £77 to £1,628 for the borough’s lowest-rated homes, while top-band properties face a £232 rise to £4,883. Parish councils in Shaw and Saddleworth could add further increases. The authority must also find £8 million of savings in the coming year, including £100,000 by switching off floodlights at the Radclyffe Athletics Centre after safety inspectors condemned the ageing system.
Waste-collection fees will be frozen—unlike neighbouring boroughs—but residents may soon pay for replacement recycling bins. Most other charges, from weddings to funerals, will rise 4.5%. Social-care packages are being redesigned to claw back £1.6 million, while £1.4 million of contracts with council-owned MioCare will be terminated. Town-centre car parks are set to return to direct council control as officials scramble to balance the books.
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