Council tax has been frozen in East Cambridgeshire for the sixth year running.

Councillors voted in favour of the freeze at a meeting of the full council last night (February 21), meaning rates will remain at £142 for an average Band D home.

The council has also benefited to the tune of £1,317,939 thanks to being part of the Cambridgeshire Business Rate Deal, which was in place for three years up until March 2018.

Councillor Anna Bailey praised the council, saying it was “unrecognisable” from the one she joined in 2007.

She said: “Back in 2014 this council was in a very different place, we took difficult decisions about changes to the staffing structure and reductions in the number of councillors.

“We were told, by the opposition, that chaos would ensue, that the work of the Council would suffer, that things would grind to a halt, and that nothing would get done.

“How very wrong that was.

“Thank you John, and to all the staff at the council, for stepping up, putting forward your ideas, and embracing the opportunities.

“This has become a demanding, but exciting Council to be involved with.”

Cllr Bailey continued: “Our zero percent council tax rise, which in this budget, will have continued for six years, our low management costs - the lowest of all district councils in Cambridgeshire by a large margin.

“Our record of delivery is all things of which we can be proud. We are the smallest of the five second tier authorities in Cambridgeshire but I know we are an authority that others look to.”

The savings come despite a drop in government funding – compared to a £659,999 provisional revenue support grant for 2017/18, the council will receive just £11,576 in 2019/20.

The freeze also follows the recent decision of Cambridgeshire County Council to increase council tax by five per cent, of which two per cent is ringfenced for adult social care.