Why is Council Tax in Cambourne so high?

In Cambourne we pay higher council tax than almost anywhere else. At £1611.16 (Band D) it is under £5 short of Labour run Ipswich which has a Council Tax of £1,615.41 (Band D). So why do Cambourne council taxpayers pay so much when most of our local authorities say they are so cheap?

The answer!

The council taxpayers of Ipswich pay for the same services but they only pay for 3 authorities. These are: Suffolk County Council (including Fire), Borough Council (same as the District Council) and The Police. Ipswich has no Parish Councils.

The council taxpayers of Cambourne pay for 5 local authorities. These are: the County Council, the Fire Authority, the District Council, The Police and, finally, the Parish Council.

Looking at the graph below, published by Cambridgeshire County Council, it shows how wonderful CCC is having lower council tax than Norfolk, Suffolk and Hertfordshire County Councils.

This is an illusion. This is because Norfolk, Suffolk and Herts CC's include their Fire Services but Cambs CC does not. If the amount charged by Cambs Fire Service (£64.26) is added to the County bill that would come to: £1,164.33 which is the highest in the Eastern region. Of course Cambs County Council won't inform residents of this fact!

Despite what the graph says Cambridgeshire County Council is an expensive Council.

The District Council is one of the cheapest by a comparison with other District Councils. In the league table SCDC stand 188th out of 201 District Councils. Again this not as it may seem. For instance there are some District Councils do not have Parish Councils underneath them. An example is Cambridge which has no Parish Councils within its boundary. Other District Councils provide more services such as Leisure Centres and Parks. SCDC does not.

Despite SCDC being one of the cheapest this is because 1) It Doesn't do alot. 2) other District Councils do more. 3) Other District Council have no parish councils so these costs are included.

Ron says: The reason why we pay alot of Council Tax whilst being informed  by our councils that they are  some of the cheapest is we pay for more - Cambourne Parish Council + Fire Service.