Residents in Cheshire East look set to see a 4.99 per cent hike in their council tax from April adding £81.15 to an annual bill for a Band D property.

The increase – which includes two per cent ring-fenced for adult social care – is expected to be rubber-stamped at Wednesday's (February 22) meeting of the full council.

The council tax rise will bring in around an extra £13m but still leaves a funding gap of £20m for 2023/4, which is why, at the same meeting, Cheshire East is also expected to agree on a number of cuts and savings so it can balance its books.

Council leader Sam Corcoran (Lab) told a previous meeting of the council that even putting the council tax up by the maximum permitted – 4.99 per cent, with inflation running at more than double that the increase still represents a cut in real terms.

"So the budget for 2023/24, will have to find at least £20m of savings or cuts to services, and all this at a time when the risks Cheshire East Council is facing and the demands on our services are greater than they have ever been," he said.

The 4.99 per cent rise is only for Cheshire East's part [precept] of the bill.

Earlier this month a rise of 6.4 per cent for the police precept was approved by the Cheshire Police and Crime Panel – but only after an attempt by some members to veto the increase and replace it with five per cent instead, failed.

This means residents living in a band D property will see an extra £15 for the year added to the policing element of their council tax bill, taking it to £250.44 for the year.

And Cheshire Fire Authority agreed to a 6.1 per cent increase, which will see an extra £5 added to the bill for a band D resident, taking the fire precept to £87.48 for the year.

Parish and town councils set different precepts and these are too numerous to list, but Cheshire East says an average total for parish councils for the whole year is £63.71. This could be slightly more or less depending on which town/parish you live in.

With all the precepts included – and adding in the average for a parish council charge of £63.71 – council tax bills for a band D resident in Cheshire East look set to rise to £2,109.

The full council meets at Macclesfield Town Hall at 11 am on Wednesday, February 22.