Four more Northern Ireland councils to strike rates before the weekend after hefty increases announced

Four more local councils in Northern Ireland are set to strike their rates before the weekend, after three councils announced hefty increases.

The first council to strike the rate for the coming year was Belfast City Council on Wednesday last week, with a 7.99% increase. That was followed on Monday with a 7.3% increase in Mid Ulster, and a 5.99% increase in the Newry, Mourne and Down council.

Tomorrow, three more councils are set to meet to strike the rate – Causeway Coast and Glens, Fermanagh and Omagh, and Lisburn and Castlereagh.

The Derry City and Strabane council is to make its decision the following day, when it meets on Friday.

The remaining councils will make their decision the following week. Two are set to meet on Monday to strike the rate – Antrim and Newtownabbey, and Mid and East Antrim. The remaining two councils – Ards and North Down, and Newtownabbey, and Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon – are set to do so on Tuesday.

The hefty increases announced so far have been accompanied by political squabbles.

In Mid Ulster, the DUP has insisted it was possible to protect front line services and still pass a lower rate increase of 4.9% – rather than the 7.3% that gained the backing of a majority of councillors in Mid Ulster.

DUP group leader in Mid Ulster, Paul McClean, said: “As a result of Sinn Fein’s and SDLP proposal the Mid Ulster district will have an 7.3% rate increase and lose front-line services. Rural recycling centres will be closed, parking charges introduced in Cookstown and grass-cutting services will be removed within the 30mph limit to our towns and villages.”