Flintshire Council to gain over £660,000 from Band D property growth

An increase in the number of Band D homes in Flintshire will generate an additional £662,000 in council tax revenue for the cash-strapped council next year.

The welcome news was highlighted as the Cabinet discussed the council tax base for 2025/26.

The base is the number of council tax-paying properties in the local authority.

It is used by the county council, Police and Crime Commissioners Office for North Wales and town and community councils to calculate the precept for the year. In 2025/26 Flintshire’s base will be 66,458 Band D properties.

That is 377 more homes than last year. According to the council tax base projections that – alongside an increase in the long-term vacant property rate from 75% to 100% – is the reason for the finance boost.

“Thanks to ongoing housebuilding, diligent tax base management and the uplift in premium rates the number of Band D properties has risen,”  Councillor Paul Johnson, Cabinet Member for Finance and Social Value, told Cabinet.

“The latest tax base calculation assumes a collection level of 98.8%, one of the best in Wales. This surpasses the Welsh average and I am confident we can achieve this target.”

Flintshire County Council is continuing to wrestle with a forecast 37.7m funding gap next year, making this increase in the base welcome news for the Cabinet.

“David Barnes’ (Flintshire County Council’s revenues and procurement manager) team was responsible for calculating all this,” said Buckley Bistre Cllr Richard Jones, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Transformation and Assets.

“If council tax levels were frozen at current levels then Flintshire County Council would collect £662,000 extra in council tax.

“That’s the difference it makes.”

By Alec Doyle – Local Democracy Reporter