Mid and East Antrim Borough Council (MEABC) said councillors “have achieved below inflation changes to business and domestic rates next year, aimed at minimising the impact on local ratepayers while delivering significant investment and improvements in the community.”
At a meeting on Monday evening, 14 February, it was agreed that householders and businesses would face a 3.64% rise in rates in the new financial year.
From April, the average householder’s bill will increase by 34p per week (or £17.59 per year), and the average business rate by £4.44 per week (or £231.00 per year).
Ina statement MEABC commented:
“Despite the sustained financial impact of the Covid-19 crisis and rising inflation, Council remains committed to growing the local economy by investing in ambitious and innovative projects to drive and sustain the future of the area in key growth sectors such as renewable energy and digital technologies. This vital work is aimed at improving skills, creating jobs and boosting our economy.”
Mayor, Councillor William McCaughey, said:
“It is vital we continue as a Council to support the recovery of our society as we move out of the pandemic, and we will remain focused on doing everything within our power to help our businesses and communities to prosper and grow.
“We began our rates process back in August of last year, and have been working round the clock to identify savings and efficiencies.
“That work has helped us ensure that the impact of rates on our citizens is minimised, while at the same time maximising the resource at our disposal to ensure vital support is available and that we can invest as required in our Borough and its infrastructure.”
Chair of Council’s Policy and Resources Committee, Alderman Billy Ashe MBE, said:
“We will continue to face challenges, as will all councils in Northern Ireland, during the coming months and years, but we remain steadfast in our commitment to recovery and regeneration across all areas of our society.”
The average domestic rates bill will be £1,002.05 per annum. Based on average capital value, this places homes in Mid and East Antrim Borough Council’s rates bill 5th lowest out of Northern Ireland’s 11 council areas.
Likewise, the average business rates bill will be £12,237, ranking the Borough 7th lowest out of all councils, based on average net annual value.
Council’s portion of the rates amounts to 50% of the rates bills received by residents and 53.6% of mbusinesses rates bills in Mid and East Antrim, with the remainder of each set by the Stormont Executive.