We understand that some residents have questions about paying both council tax and separate estate maintenance charges, particularly where a private company maintains areas on the estate.
Why you still have to pay council tax
Council tax is a national charge set in law and is payable on all domestic properties.
We do not have the discretion to reduce or remove council tax because a property is also subject to private estate charges.
What council tax pays for
Council tax helps fund a wide range of services used by residents across the whole district and county — not just services in your immediate area. This includes:
- Social care (for adults and children)
- Education
- Highways and road maintenance
- Waste collection and recycling
- Environmental services
- Libraries and community services
- Policing (via the Police and Crime Commissioner)
- Fire and rescue services
These services are provided by several public organisations, including the district council, county council, police and fire service.
Why some estates have additional charges
On some newer developments, certain communal areas - such as green spaces, play areas or private roads - are not adopted by the local authority. Instead, the developer arranges for these areas to be maintained by a private management company.
This arrangement is usually agreed as part of the planning process and legal agreements linked to the development (for example, Section 106 agreements or planning conditions).
As a result, residents on these estates contribute towards the upkeep of those specific areas through separate estate maintenance charges.
If the council took on responsibility for maintaining these areas, the cost of that work would need to be funded through increased council tax.
This means that, in practice, council tax would need to increase to cover the additional ongoing maintenance costs across the district.
In other words, residents would still contribute towards maintaining these areas, but through council tax rather than a separate estate charge.
