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Rates go down 14% in Castletown – but waste charges introduced

Thu, 24 Jan 2019

Castletown Commissioners have chosen to reduce rates in the town by 14 per cent, whilst introducing a fixed waste charge for domestic properties.

Chair of the local authority Colin Leather says it’s the ‘fairest way to fund a service that all residents receive an equal benefit from’.

The change will take effect from 1 April and will see 50p struck off the rates, leaving them at 291p in the pound.

To offset this drop, a fixed domestic refuse charge set at £135 has been introduced, leaving the average household paying an additional £75.20 a year.

According to Mr Leather, this change should allow ratepayers to see the separate cost of refuse services, highlighting the ‘year on year increases from central government and contractiors’.

He says whilst the change may be ‘unpalatable’ to residents with low rated properties, the commissioners wanted to address a system ‘where some homes are effectively being subsidised by others in the town’.

By Ewan Gawne - Local Democracy Reporter

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