Highest council tax hike hits home in Falkirk

Falkirk recently set Scotland's highest council tax rise at 15.6%, taking the annual bill for an average band D property to £1,576.77.

The budget of the council's SNP administration was defeated, with the motion of Independent councillor Laura Murtagh backed by the Labour group and other independents.

Despite the increase, the town sits just outside the top 10 in Scotland when it comes to the actual amount householders will pay.

But, now that the dust has settled on the ensuing political row, and householders are opening their new bills, how do Falkirk residents and businesses feel about it?

Falkirk Foodbank sits in a quiet industrial estate a couple of miles from the town centre.

It supplies 80 to 100 food parcels a week to about 150 people in crisis.

Despite providing an essential lifeline to the community, it has been broken into and targeted by thieves five times in recent months.

Manager Harrison Crawford is concerned about the knock-on effect of the council tax increase.

He said: "We are expecting there to be a rise (in referrals) because of the increase in council tax.

"The reverse side of that, as a manager, is I'm also considering that there is likely going to be a drop in donations."

He said that even before the council tax rise, the centre had received three tonnes less in donations in January than the same month last year.

He said: "It is worrying if we see any further drops, it means we either have to reduce the amount of food that we give, or top up the stock ourselves financially, which we already have to do with certain items."

"Those working families who are maybe right at the limit, once the council tax increase comes in they might be wanting to come to us."

Foodbank volunteer Anne Haldane agrees.

She said: "It will certainly have an impact.

"I mean we're all affected by it but people on the breadline will really struggle.

"The council here have kept it down for a long time, so we can't expect not to see it rising, but I think the amount it's risen by in comparison with the other councils is a wee bit steep."

Anne said that the council "has to find the money from somewhere" for essentials like education.

She said: "Having looked at it in a different light, I have to say if they had put it up stage by stage instead of all this at the one time, we wouldn't have felt it as much."

Alastair Blackstock, chairman of the foodbank, said he felt past council freezes were a "vote catcher."

He said: "It's going to target everybody but the ones it will target most are at the lower end who are unemployed or have low income.

"Education is the main priority and health and social work. The money should be going there to improve and increase the benefit to everyone in the area."

At a nearby community centre, one working mum who did not want to be named said her council tax had increased by £22 a month.

She agreed that an incremental increase in the charge over a number of years might have been a better option.

"I have to find the money from somewhere, which is probably going to have an effect on my food shopping, because that's where it's going to come from," she said.

"I just think it's a massive rise to do at one time, I understand it has to come from somewhere, but not all councils are doing the same rise as us, and they've got the same problems as us.

"So, I get it and I don't."

Soup kitchen coordinator Anne Thomson, 62, said she felt "penalised" by the increase, having worked since she was 16.

She said she felt there was nothing to show for the hike in council tax and "doesn't bode well" for Falkirk's position as a popular commuter town.

She said: "Loads of folks commute between Glasgow and Edinburgh.

"Now, because the house prices are increasing and because of the actual council tax, I would think twice, I would probably move into other areas.

"I certainly wouldn't move into the town."

Working a stall with his colleagues in the Howgate Shopping Centre, youth worker Ethan McLelland reflects on his recent change of circumstances.

The 27-year-old previously rented, but recently managed to buy his own home.

He said: "A few months ago the council tax rise would have put me in a very bad situation.

"I have a lot of friends who are parents who already feel that life is quite tight.

"It's just another thing that contributes to people being stressed and finding day-to-day living harder to deal with.

"I suppose with Edinburgh and Glasgow you expect the council tax to be more but you come here expecting it to be cheaper."

Local businesses are also concerned.

Giles Nicholl has owned Finnegans Cafe in Vicar Street for the last six-and-a-half years.

He said business is healthy, but any increases in people's outgoings, including council tax, will make a difference.

"It was quite a shock. Customers are saying they'll not be spending as much money because some have maybe got a council tax increase of up to £100, which is a big hike," he said.

"People will cut costs because they won't go out as much - a lot of people come in here because it's a social thing.

"They live on their own and they come in here, what's going to happen then?"

He said he would have expected more attention to be paid to the city centre with a 15.6% increase in council tax.

"The streets aren't cleaned half the time, your bins only emptied every three weeks. I would expect your refuse to be collected a lot more, council workers out cleaning," he said.

"The town's a mess, it's a disgrace, especially on a Saturday or Sunday morning."

Lauren Brown started her clothing business Sisters and Misters in nearby Lint Riggs in 1996 and moved into her current location in the street in 2016.

The daughter of a retailer, the 54-year-old single mum said she started her career when Falkirk was a "boom town."

She thinks the council tax increase was a "slap in the face" to local people.

"I was horrified. Our town centre is in decline, it's been neglected," she said.

"The council go on about the Falkirk Wheel and the Kelpies, forgetting that they've got this fantastic town centre with the steeple, beautiful listed buildings, great independent businesses."

She said her council tax has risen by £130 a month.

"We've already started to say no takeaways so that affects other wee businesses in the town. Where are we meant to find this extra money?

"You're going to cut back on meals out, nights out, gifts, and cut back on buying clothes and that's where it's going to hit my business.

"Customers have said to me, that's my takeaway - for some people it's their holidays.

"People can't just get the money out of thin air."

A Falkirk Council spokesman said the authority understood the views of some residents towards the increase.

He said: "Unfortunately after many years of being one of the lowest council taxes in Scotland, at the same time as often delivering a broader and cheaper level of services, it was necessary for Falkirk Council to increase the council tax level.

"Even with the most recent rise, nearly a third of Scottish councils are still charging more than Falkirk."

The spokesman pointed to a 2024 public consultation where the majority of those taking part said they would be prepared to pay more council tax to protect services and invest in new infrastructure.

He said this included a new transport hub in the town centre and a new town hall.

He said: "The latest increase also enables us to invest an additional £15m to fund many different projects that will support new schools, upgrade existing school buildings, as well as improve roads, bridges, flood prevention all of which will ultimately benefit our local communities.

"In addition, significant investment is taking place (and planned) across many towns and villages including Falkirk with masterplans in production that will help shape their future."