Nottingham's taxes soar, but local services are in disarray

In Nottingham's Old Market Square, the fountains that once flowed in front of the Council House are bone dry, and under proposed cost-cutting measures they may never be switched on again.

- Jessica Murray

It's one of many potential cuts on the horizon for the people of this east Midlands city, even though they pay the second highest rate of council tax in England.

Council tax, used to fund local services, is calculated based on the value of a property. Households in the lowest price band in Nottingham are paying £1,608 ($2,030) a year for 2023-24, compared with the national average of £1,392 and just £608 in Westminster, which boasts the lowest rates.

Nottingham has seen some of the steepest council tax rises in the country in recent years, but most properties in the city fall under the lowest council tax bands, A and B.

"They're taking more money off the working person, and then give you nothing for it," said a shopper, Grahame Ballam, 70. "We get a bad deal in Nottingham. Everything is going up and there's nothing you can do about it, but it's the cuts that bother people."