A revised 9.3 per cent council tax rise for Ceredigion residents from April has been pushed through despite a meeting hearing that residents are “struggling” and “can’t afford” the succession of yearly tax rises.

An initially planned 9.9 per cent council tax rise was recommended to fall to 9.3 after the Welsh Government announced a slight increase in funding ahead of a final decision on next year’s budget at the Full Council meeting on 3 March.

The 9.3 per cent rise will now see a Band D property pay an extra £160.52 a year, but the budget contains no further service cuts after swathes of cuts in previous years.

Cllr Rhodri Evans said the Independent group “are very disappointed that savings weren’t looked at to bring the council tax rise down” for residents, including ideas to look at cutting 40 job roles.

“We cannot expect Ceredigion residents to pay 10 per cent more each year to fill the budget,” he said.

“In the last three years, council tax in Ceredigion has risen by around 40 per cent.

“Residents are struggling to live with the rise in living costs.

“The 9.3 per cent increase will be detrimental and the council needs to listen more to residents.”

Finance Cabinet member Gareth Davies said he was “proud of this budget” but that “the council tax increase is higher than we wish.”

Cllr Elizabeth Evans said that while “it is our hard-working residents balancing precarious home finances and pensioners on fixed income who bear the brunt of these increases, and there is a limit to what they can afford,” she backed the budget as she called for “no more cuts” on services.

“This has to be a turning point where we start investing in services again,” she said.

“We know the public reaction to it will be hostile, because we know there are people on our wards who will struggle because of it.”

Cllr Carl Worrall told members that “so many families are at breaking point and I can’t see it getting better any time soon.”

“While I understand it’s not just the council tax that is rising, this will have a knock on effect on everyone in this county,” he said.

Cllr Hugh Hughes told members: “How long can our communities sustain three times inflation increases in council tax?

“It seems like a bleak future.”

Councillors from across the chamber took aim at the Welsh Government over a lack of funding for Ceredigion, with concerns raised that higher council tax increases and more service cuts in future years will be inevitable if central funding isn’t increased.

Corporate Leader for Finance Duncan Hall told members that the council’s “medium term financial outlook remains poor” with budgets remaining “under considerable pressure.”

The council tax rise voted through with 21 councillors in favour and 16 against.

The full budget for 2025/26 will include an 8.3 per cent rise in schools funding and extra money for Waste Collection and the Planning Enforcement Service.