Households across Gloucestershire will be hit by council tax rises – at the same time many are battling to make ends meet due to the rising cost of utility bills.

Gloucestershire County Council agreed a revenue budget which totals £566.110 million in February and an increase of 4.99% in council tax for 2023/24.

This is made up of a 2.99% hike plus a 2% adult social care precept increase. The increase means residents living in a band D property will be expected to pay £1,523.78 yearly to Shire Hall.

On top of that, the average household bill paid for the running of Gloucestershire Constabulary will rise to £295.05 in 2023/24.

Police and Crime Commissioner Chris Nelson’s revenue budget for 2023/24 of £145,787,817 was approved by councillors last month. This will result in a council tax rise of 5.36% – this is an equivalent increase of £15 for a band D property.

Gloucester City Council

The bill Gloucester residents pay to the city council is also rising by 2.99% This means those living in a band D house will have to pay £223.48 for their services in the upcoming financial year.

Council leader Richard Cook (C, Kingsway) spoke of the financial challenges the authority faces as a result of the pandemic, inflation and how it has been recovering from a cyber attack. Quedgeley residents will also have to pay extra towards their town council. This is £41.01 for band d properties.

Stroud District Council

Households in Stroud will also have to find more money to pay their district council from April as councillors approved a 2.99% increase. Stroud District Council voted unanimously on February 16 to approve their budget for the upcoming financial year.

The increase will mean residents living in a band D property will pay £229.17 for services provided by the district council such as bin collections, leisure and planning.

Council leader Catherine Braun (G, Wotton-under-Edge) said councillors are mindful of the impact of increases in the cost of living on households across the district.

The final bill will also include the fee parish council charge their residents live. The highest in the district is Wotton-under-Edge where band D households have to pay £219.17 to the town council.

Residents in Dursley will be expected to pay £216.66 while those in Kingswood will be charged £208.38. The bill in Stroud town is £199.64 while it is £170.41 in Berkeley, £167.58 in Nailsworth and £155.84 in Stonehouse.

Cotswold District Council

Cotswolds residents will also be asked to pay more in tax from April for bin collections, planning and licensing services. Cotswold District Council approved its budget for the upcoming financial year on February 15.

The increase in council tax will see band D properties pay £148.93 each year to the district council – this equates to a year-on-year rise of £5. Finance and cabinet member Mike Evemy (LD, Siddington and Cerney Rural) said it’s the first budget he has proposed which will require using council reserves, some £860,000.

The final bill will also include the parish council costs. In Cirencester, band D households will have to pay £174.79 to the town council, while those in other towns such as Tetbury, Moreton-in-Marsh, Stow-on-the-Wold and Chipping Campden will have to find another £135.45, £114.54, £179.63 and £91.52 respectively.

Cheltenham Borough Council

Cheltenham residents will have to pay more tax to their Borough Council from April as civic chiefs there also approved a 2.99% hike. The increase means residents living in a band D property will have to pay £230.78 a year to Cheltenham Borough Council – an extra £6.70.

Finance cabinet member Peter Jeffries (LD, Springbank), who presented the budget at the February 20 council meeting, spoke of the impact inflation has had on the Municipal Offices’ coffers.

The bill will be higher for those living in parished areas of Cheltenham. For a band D property it means those living in Charlton Kings, Leckhampton with Warden Hill, Prestbury, Swindon and Up Hatherly will pay an extra £42.57, £18.75, £33.55, £17.21 and £12.11 respectively.

Forest of Dean District Council

Forest of Dean residents will be asked to pay more tax towards the district council from April. People living in band D properties will be forced to pay £199.83 a year towards the district council, up by 2.99% since last year.

Finance cabinet member Richard Leppington (Progressive Independents, Bream) said the budget allows the council to tackle some of the key issues that matter to residents of the Forest of Dean. This budget has been agreed without having to draw on reserves, something that very few other councils have been able to do, he told the council meeting on February 16.

Lydney is the most expensive place to live in the Forest when it comes to council tax as band D households also have to pay £203.57 to their town council. Cinderford, Coleford and Newent residents have to pay £192.66, £155.57 and £153.92 to their respective town councils.

Tewkesbury Borough Council

Residents in the Tewkesbury borough will also be forced to pay more council tax to their second tier council from April after civic chiefs barely took five minutes to approve a hike last month.

Tewkesbury Borough Council approved a net budget of more than £11.3 million for the upcoming financial year. Finance officers said that council services are under severe pressure to meet the demands placed upon them after more than a decade of austerity.

They say the inflationary pressures the authority is under requires a 3.72% council tax increase to continue delivering its existing services and to grow. The tax rise means band D properties will have to pay £139.36 for the services provided by the borough council.

Residents’ final bill will also include the town or parish council charge. Northway residents have the highest bill in the borough and band D households will be expected to pay £152.36 to their parish council

Tewkesbury and Winchcombe residents face a town council bill of £130.25 and £113.79. While Ashchurch and Bishop’s Cleeve parish councils will charge band d households £119.99 and £86.91 respectively.