Norwich council tax to rise and £8m savings needed for 2024

A report to Norwich City Council has revealed its plans for the 2024/2025 budget which says the authority continues to face "huge financial pressures".

One of the key policies affecting some people this year is a proposed 2.99pc increase to its share of council tax for Band D properties.

Outside City Hall in Norwich (Image: Newsquest)

This means people living in these properties will see their bill rise to £297.22, paying an extra £8.63 a year.

Owners of long-term empty properties (between one year and five years) will also face a 100pc premium on council tax bills, which is to be introduced next year.

This comes before the introduction of the second home premium, which will come into force in April 2025.

READ MORE: Developer scraps Anglia Square revamp

People receiving council tax support will continue to receive a 100pc reduction, which follows a public consultation that showed 59pc of respondents were in support of keeping this at its current rate.

In a bid to make savings and avoid the need to use reserves, the council has identified areas where it can make £3.75m in savings and additional income this year but says it needs to make £9.5m by 2029.

Finance officers said that while the council continues to face financial challenges - blamed on a "sustained period of austerity" and increased demand for services - its ambition remains "undiminished".

READ MORE: City council's debt revealed

The Anglia Square development will no longer go ahead (Image: Denise Bradley)

In what is perhaps in part an allusion to Anglia Square, the report says the council wants to "make a real difference to the physical fabric of the city" and that it will work with the private sector to help fund this investment.

But plans for the major regeneration project have fallen by the wayside this week after developer Weston Homes announced it has scrapped the scheme due to rising costs.

The final budget proposals will be brought to full council on February 21.