Mark Whitehead 08 June 2023

Cash-strapped Thurrock to hike charges

Cash-strapped Thurrock to hike charges image
Image: Philographer / Shutterstock.com.

Beleaguered Thurrock Council is set to increase charges for its services to help deal with its cash crisis.

It will mean higher costs for planning applications, burials, cremations and marriages in a bid to raise an extra £114,000 a year.

The council is in debt of around £1.5bn after borrowing hundreds of millions of pounds, mainly from other councils, to invest largely in financial bonds linked to solar energy farms.

It is already borrowing £836m in Government loans and has been told an extra £632m bailout is likely to be approved to prop up its finances over the next two years.

Earlier this year the Government stripped the authority of its powers and it is now run by commissioners and finance officers from Essex County Council.

A financial report said the increase from 1 October will enable the council to generate essential income for the funding of council services.

Increases include marriages and civil ceremonies going up from £590 to £610, a third visitor parking permit rising from £15 to £75 and burials costing £990, up from £930.

An NHS parking pass for carers and community nurses will rise from £120 per year to £151.

The report says the new fees and charges will ensure that the council is 'competitive with other service providers and neighbouring councils'.

It says the ability to vary charges within the financial year will enable services to more flexibly adapt to changing economic conditions.

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