Wokingham Borough council tax bills to go up by 4.94 per cent

Wokingham Borough Council tax bills are set to be raised by 4.94 per cent,as the council aims to cut £6.7 million from its budget this year.

The budget will be debated at a meeting at the Civic Offices in Shute End, Wokingham, at 8pm on Thursday, February 23.

The tax rise includes a 1.94 per cent of general council tax, and an increase in three per cent for the social care levy.

The budget includes borrowing of more than £82 million, which will be invested in projects like the regeneration of Wokingham town, which the council believes will provide significant income in the future.

About £4 million of the cuts are expected to be found from the 21st Century Council programme, which aims to reduce the amount of staff and rely more heavily on IT systems to deliver services to residents.

When asked by the Advertiser if residents in Twyford and the nearby villages may still continue to spend their money in places such as Reading even after significant amounts of their council’s money gets invested into Wokingham town, Cllr Anthony Pollock (Con, Shinfield South), executive member for economic development and finance, said: “We will be different to Reading.

“We are going to have a Waterstones.

“It will create opportunities.

“People in Twyford will have the opportunity to choose.”