Residents paying £1m a year for council split

Taxpayers in Telford are continuing to stump up more than £1m a year to pay Shropshire Council for their separation more than a quarter of a century ago.

Telford and Wrekin Council was created in 1998 when it took the full powers of a unitary authority and Shropshire Council did the same for the rest of the county.

As part of the process, Telford took on some of the debts held by the former Shropshire County Council.

A Telford Council spokesperson said: "The payment to Shropshire Council is in relation to historic Shropshire County Council debt and is scheduled to continue to 2060-61."

They confirmed the payments would continue during the next financial year and for another 35 years after that.

Documents produced for recent meetings revealed the total contribution in 2023-24 was £1.143m, with an average interest payment of 4.1%.

Budget papers also reveal that, overall, a little under 10% of the annual revenue budget goes on debt repayments. These can be affected if interest rates rise or fall.

The council said that in 2025-26, debt repayments were expected to be about 9.9% of the council's £180m revenue budget.

The authority's budget papers pointed out that the council generates an income from schemes such as its arms-length housing company Nuplace and the Growth Fund.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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