Waverley: Residents on new estate fuming at surprise 354 per cent hike in council tax precept

Residents on a new Rotherham housing estate have slammed a whopping 354 per cent increase in council tax precept that came "out of the blue."

Some 1,700 homes in Waverley, close to Handsworth, Sheffield, must pay the huge increase to fund the fit-out of a new community centre.

People in a band ‘D’ property have to pay £288 to the Community Council, up from £65 last year.

It comes on top of £1,545 to Rotherham Council, £251 for the police, £85 for the fire service and £270 for adult social care, pushing council tax to £2,440 a year. Waverley residents also pay a £170-a-year service charge to maintain roads and verges.

Some householders say the first they knew of the precept increase was when bills dropped through doors.

Louise Holmes of Loxley Road said: "During the cost of living crisis this is unacceptable, many of us were not consulted regarding the building of this community centre, and many of us do not wish to have it! It’s sheer rudeness, how can they do this without any consultation?"

Michael Talbot, of Redstart Drive, said: "Why are residents footing the bill?"

Sally Lee, of Rivelin Way, said her Waverley precept had soared from £42 last year to £192.

She added: "They said it was advertised in the local Wave magazine and on Facebook. But why not send a letter to all residents?"

Landowner Harworth - the former property division of UK Coal - has been redeveloping the former Orgreave Coking Works site since 2011. Some 1,750 homes have been built and it has outline planning permission for 3,890.

But it is only obliged to provide a shell of a building for community use, under a deal with Rotherham Council.

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A spokesperson for Waverley Community Council said they could only raise funds for the fit-out of the community centre via the precept and grants. And councillors agreed the tax increase after three meetings.

They added: "WCC used its website and the local WAVE magazine to highlight to residents that the precept was being set at its December and January meetings. We also then announced on the WCC website the precept increase on 8 February.

"All the WCC meetings are open to the public to attend. There is always an agenda item for residents to ask questions as well. The council meetings are publicised via the two noticeboards in Waverley in advance of the meetings and on the WCC website."

The council has applied for grants from various sources, including the National Lottery. If successful, it would be used to reduce future precepts, they added.

But they had to have a lease in place to apply to the National Lottery. Should the bid fail, WCC would be responsible for the lease but would not have the money to fit-out the community centre, they added.

Harworth Group is master developer for Waverley where several companies are building homes. The firm has been criticised for failing to provide facilities. Waverley currently has only a pub and a school which needs extending.

A spokesperson said: "Harworth is creating a building suitable for community facilities at Olive Lane.   

"Waverley Community Council will be leasing this building from Harworth – at a very low ‘peppercorn’ rent of £1 a year, rather than market rent as with the other commercial occupiers – to use it as a community centre.

"As with the wider commercial units created at Waverley, while Harworth will fund and manage the construction of the building, the eventual occupier – in this case the community council – is responsible for fitting it out according to their needs.  

"We understand the community council has been exploring options to fund this fit-out, but as Harworth has not been involved in these discussions, or in the costing of the potential works, it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to comment.  We have, however offered our professional team’s assistance in reviewing the costs and supporting their planning where appropriate.

"We are committed to creating a vibrant new area at Olive Lane and will continue to work closely with the community council over the coming months."

Rotherham Council was approached for comment.