Plans to increase council tax by £5 from April and a fresh loan of £25million to pump into commercial and retail property has been approved.

East Anglian Daily Times: John Ward, Babergh District Council leader said there was a compelling case for the council tax increase. Picture: PAUL NIXONJohn Ward, Babergh District Council leader said there was a compelling case for the council tax increase. Picture: PAUL NIXON (Image: Paul Nixon Photography 01473430707 07904296577)

Babergh District Council approved the 2019/20 budget on Tuesday night, where the proposals were tabled.

The district council’s element of the council tax will rise by £5 a year – around 10p extra per week – for a Band D property, the government benchmark.

It follows a 12.7% increase already approved for the police precept and 4% increase at county council level.

Conservative council leader John Ward said: “The numbers produce a compelling case for council tax increases each year. We will continue to do this at the maximum level required without a referendum.”

Elsewhere, controversial plans to borrow an additional £25m from the Public Works Loan Board were also given the green light, which will effectively double the council’s investment in retail and commercial properties through its joint-owned company CIFCO Capital Ltd.

The firm has come under fire for borrowing large sums of money but investing it largely out of county.

There were also question marks over the retail market following high profile national stories of firms such as Marks and Spencer, House of Fraser, and HMV struggling.

A stress test has taken place to assess potential risks, with council chiefs confident they have mitigated the risks as much as possible.

Concerns were raised by independent councillor Clive Arthey that nationwide changes to council investments which meant there were soaring numbers of local authorities investing in business property using Public Works Loan Board cash at preferential interest rates had “skewed” the market, presenting a risk to the council’s portfolio if the bottom fell out of the market.

Councillor Nick Ridley, member of the board at CIFCO and cabinet member for planning said: “Whatever we invest in there is a risk.

“But over the last 30-40 years property has proven remarkably resilient.

“You won’t see many portfolios that have failed – only those that were speculative.

“We are not there to blow council money we are there to support it.

“If we don’t get the income from there, it’s hard to see where we get it.

“For is to have cutbacks is not something we don’t want to do. If we don’t want to take advantage of this particular type of investment we may have to cut back.”