Tax bills to rise as Newport Council declares war on potholes

Council tax bills will increase by 4.9% in Newport this year to help fund what the council leader called a “huge investment” in the city’s public services.

The rise in bills was opposed by the Conservative group, who argued for a smaller increase than that proposed by the Labour-led council.

Cllr Dimitri Batrouni, who leads the local authority, said his party’s final budget proposals reflected issues “we’ve talked about all year” – including a commitment to repairing the potholes and road issues he said were “on everyone’s lips”.

He talked up the Labour group’s final plans for spending on education, housing, and social care as “the biggest investment in Newport’s public services in 15 years”.

Tory councillor William Routley proposed his party’s amendment to the draft budget, which would use roughly £7 million of headroom to pay for road repairs and cover a lower council tax rise of 3.7%.

He said the city’s roads were in a “poor, dilapidated state”, and residents “can’t afford to continue paying these rises in council tax”.

His party colleague, Cllr Chris Reeks, said the Conservative amendment “addresses key concerns of residents across the city”.

But Cllr Batrouni argued the Tory plan would end up “defunding” many of Labour’s final budget investments and represented less spending on potholes than his own party had pledged.

Much of the road repair funding in the final budget was not in the original plans, but was instead announced at a recent cabinet meeting.

Cllr Matthew Evans, the Conservative group leader, said Newport had seen “staggering” increases in council tax bills.

“You keep saying it’s only a few more pounds but the reality is different,” he told the chamber, claiming bills had roughly “doubled” since 2013.

But independent councillor Miqdad Al-Nuaimi said “hardly any” people had complained about the proposed 4.9% rise at a budget meeting in his Stow Hill ward.

“We are not discussing service cuts, which… I’m sure the people in my ward and the rest of Newport value far more than the pound they might save,” he added.

Cllr Allan Screen, of Labour, blasted the Tory proposals as “smoke and mirrors” that he claimed had a “sting in the tail” of reduced investment.

The extra investments announced at the recent cabinet meeting had been enough to persuade the Lliswerry independents to not put forward their own amendments, their group leader – Cllr Mark Howells – told the meeting.

He said the group would support the council’s budget “on the basis of funding going to our ward”, adding that while they would like to have seen a lower rate of council tax, “we need to be investing in the infrastructure that our residents demand”.

The cabinet member for infrastructure, Cllr Rhian Howells, said she hoped the plans for “absolutely massive” investment in road repairs wouldn’t go unnoticed amid the political debate.

She said around £20 million of spending “sends a clear message to residents that we have heard them”, and “we know how important the roads are”.