COUNCIL tax will go up by £5 a year as of April for residents of West Oxfordshire.

At its meeting on Wednesday, West Oxfordshire District Council approved its budget for 2020/21 and a rise in council tax.

The council has said it plans to spend money on rolling out high speed broadband, improving recycling services, and continuing to support people who would otherwise be homeless.

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Council leader James Mills said: “We want to deliver the best possible facilities for residents, continue to meet housing need and support business investment in the district.

“We will continue to modernise our services with our partners which allows us to obtain better value from our investments despite cost pressures from outside.”

To pay for all of its aims, the council will need to collect an estimated £44,285.22.

The average household, known as a band D house will pay £104.38 to WODC from April, which is up from £99.38 in the current financial year.

Overall, the average West Oxfordshire resident will have to pay £1,848.10 in council from April, with the majority of the payment, £1,527.44 going towards Oxfordshire County Council, and a further £216.28 going towards Thames Valley Police.

Richer households will pay more, and poorer households will pay less, based on how their home in classed in the tax banding system.

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The budget was largely welcomed by opposition councillors including Labour group leader, Duncan Enright, who said his group supported the spending plan because it helped to 'address the holes left by the Conservative Government.'

Mr Enright said: "We all face many challenges because of the wrong-headed government and its cuts."

He added: "The budget for next year contains action on the climate emergency; houses people can afford, as well as measures on homelessness; and in the future we will look at youth services and some more support for community safety."

Unlike three other district councils in Oxfordshire: Vale of White Horse, South Oxfordshire, and Cherwell, West Oxfordshire's medium term finances are not likely to lead to a 'cliff edge' where no savings are available to prop up council spending.

Instead, WODC believes it can save money into reserves for the future by increasing tax.

Correction: a previous version of this article said TVP would collect £456.10 in council tax next year from the average household. This was incorrect, it is £216.28.