Council tax in Newcastle-under-Lyme is scheduled to go up by 1.99% from April if plans agreed by the borough council's leaders are approved by full council in February.

It's significantly lower than the 4.99% maximum which councils can increase council tax rates, and it honours a commitment made by the Conservative councillors in Newcastle to increase council tax by less than 2% each year.

Bosses say the increase will cost 10p per week or less for 95% of households within the borough, equating to around £5 per year.

The borough council is only part of residents' overal tax bill – with the rest comprised of payemtns for county council services, parish councils as well as police and fire services.

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council offices (Richard Price).

Leader, Cllr Simon Tagg said: "We made a pledge to keep council tax below 2% in our election and we're honouring that here.

"Even though the government has raised the limit and we could increase it by more, we're not going to do that.

"Other authorities may be doing that, but we're not doing that here in Newcastle, and we've balanced the budget based on that.

"I think it is a good budget – it invests money where it needs to be invested, but it's got a brief to make the savings necessary to balance the budget."

In December, the council learned it is due to receive £169,000 more from central government than it was expecting, which finance bosses have decided to place into a budget and borrowing support fund.

This will help insulate the authority against any unexpected losses or potential interest rate rises in the coming year.

The council has also had to identify savings in order to plug a funding gap of just over £2 million and has said it will achieve this through efficiency savings across the council.

Deputy leader of the council, Cllr Stephen Sweeney, described these savings as feasible and sustainable and said they'd been agreed with managers.

The council has already achieved nearly £200,000 of savings in the previous financial year, and expects to achieve over £600,000 worth of savings in the current financial year and over £300,000 the following year.

A report to councillors states: "Expenditure continues to be reduced wherever possible throughout the council to ensure that only absolutely necessary spending is being incurred."

It adds: "Careful monitoring of the financial position will be required over coming weeks and months leading to prompt corrective action where necessary to ensure the council remains in a position of being able to deliver a balanced budget position in the current financial year and beyond."

Elsewhere, it was confirmed that parking charges at council-owned car parks will be frozen at current rates, but charges for a number of other services will increase.

Across the board – with a few exceptions, in particular within the council's cemetery service – fees will increase by around 4%.

Cllr Stephen Sweeney defended the increase, saying: "When you think inflation is running at ten or eleven percent, and we're putting our prices up by 4%, I think that's a great credit to this council."

The budget will be voted on at the full council meeting on 15th February 2023.