A LESSER council tax increase of 4.95 per cent is now being considered for Conwy.

Cllr Sam Rowlands, leader of the Council, has presented the latest information on the 2020/21 Budget to Cabinet colleagues, in preparation for the final decision by Council next week.

A protest to 'freeze council tax' took place on Saturday after it was initially proposed householders face a threat of a seven per cent increase in council tax.

Cllr Rowlands said: "The Revenue Budget is one of the most important considerations that we make during the course of the Council’s year. The planning for 2020/21 has been especially difficult due to the timing of the provisional settlement and how late in the day the final settlement will be made available to us.

“The majority of our budget goes to schools and social care and we need to ensure we can deliver the best possible services for these groups in the current, challenging financial climate.”

“I’m pleased that we’ve been able to recommend to next week’s Council meeting a lesser Council Tax increase of 4.95 per cent. Clearly we must consider all the pressures and demands on council services when setting the budget and council tax.”

The recommendation put forward by Scrutiny Committee and Cabinet on Thursday, February 27 will be presented to Council on Thursday, March 5 for the final decision.