York council budget plans: some of the cost increases you'll face

As reported by The Press last month, York’s council tax is set to rise by 4.99 per cent as City of York Council faces up to 'unprecedented' financial pressures.

Some jobs will also be at risk as the authority seeks to deliver more than £5 million of savings in 2023/24 and another £2.7 million in 2024/25 - although officials have stressed that every effort will be made to avoid compulsory redundancies.

Fees and charges for everything from parking to rubbish disposal and cycle road safety training for children will also rise, under the council’s draft budget for 2023/24.

We have been picking through annexes to the council’s budget document, which was made public on January 4, to identify some of the proposed rises in fees.

Here are just some of the increases:

Litter and rubbish: if you’re caught dropping litter and the council issues you with a fixed penalty notice, then you’ll have to pay more from April.

The cost of a penalty notice for littering will rise from £100 to £110 - a 10 per cent increase. If you pay your fine early (within 10 days) it will still cost more - up from £75 to £80, a rise of just under seven per cent.

You’ll also have to pay more if you’re served with a council fine for failing to dispose of your household rubbish properly.

The cost of a penalty notice will rise by £25, from £250 to £275 – again, a 10 per cent increase. Pay your notice early, and your penalty notice will still be more expensive than now – also up by £25, from £150 to £175, a rise of 14 per cent.

The cost of replacing a lost or damaged rubbish bin for your home will also go up: from £46 to £50 for small, 180 litre bins; from £51 to £56 for medium-sized bins; and from £58 to £64 for large, 360 litre bins.

The cost of replacing a rubbish bin will go up (Image: Other)

The cost of an additional garden bin collection will also rise, from £41 to £43 – a five per cent rise.

Youi’ll be charged more if you want the council to collect an old fridge or freezer – up by £2 from £15 to £17, a 13 per cent rise. Disposing of an old gas bottle at Hazel Court, meanwhile, will also cost you more: up by £4, from £43 to £47.00, a rise of more than nine per cent.

Roads and road safety: The cost of parking at the Monks Cross Park & Ride if you’re NOT planning to take the bus into the city centre will rise by £1, from £5 to £6 – an increase of 20 per cent (users of the Community Stadium please take note).

Monks Cross Park&Ride (Image: Google Street View)

Taxis: the cost of applying for a three year private hire or hackney carriage licence will rise from £161.00 to £181.00 – an increase of £20.00 or 12.5 per cent

Development: Businesses also face a raft of increases.

Anyone thinking of converting a home into a ‘house in multiple occupation’ (basically, a stuident house) will have to pay roughly 10 per cent more for a licence.

The cost of the licence varies dependiong on the size and location of the property: a licence to convert a Band A house into multiple occupation will go up by £121, from £1,195 to £1,316, while the cost of a licence for converting a Band D property will increase by £173, from £1,715 to £1,888.

If you are thinking of getting an extension to your house, or putting up a shed in the garden, the cost of asking the council whether you will need permission to do so will go up by £7.50, from £75.00 £82.50 – a 10 per cent rise.

The cost of getting advice about an extension to your home will rise (Image: Other)

At the other end of the scale, developers wanting to build major new housing schemes of 200 properties or more will also see an increase in the cost of council advice, up from £53 per dwelling to £58 – a rie of almost 10 per cent.

Consultation on the budget proposals endedon January 9. The proposals are due to be presented to the council’s Executive next Thursday (February 9), and will then be debated at full council on February 23.