How can you possibly link The Beach Boys to council tax? Well the song title above is a clue. There is a strong possibility of recession in this country and pressures on all of us through steep price rises on food, petrol and energy , means it will be a tough year for families in Craven and the rest of the country. Yet I do not see any councils taking this into account when setting council tax. For example -

North Yorkshire  4.75% increase

Harrogate 4.2% increase

Scarborough 4.4% increase

North Yorkshire Police Authority 4.3% increase

One wonders what we will get extra as a consequence of these increases.

However Craven District Council took the bold step to not only set no increase in council tax but to also invest over £1,000,000 in better services for residents. A direct response to the needs of its residents for better recycling, more local needs housing, plugging the gap on public transport by supporting community transport, more focused economic development for rural and market towns. All of this whilst still recognising it’s going to be an economically challenging year for all of us.

Significant expenditure on services that will make a real difference to the residents of Craven at no additional cost to them. I think that puts our neighbouring councils and our county council to shame.  Setting council tax increases just below the capping limit, bumping up reserves - for what? It is one thing having reserves for those “just in case” times, quite another thing accumulating for the sake of it.

It was a bold step by Craven councillors to vote for this budget this evening, but, to continue the Beach Boys theme I anticipate “Good Vibrations” to reverberate around Craven.