Wandsworth formally approves its unique position as only council in London to be reducing its share of council tax bills

The decision means that Wandsworth will retain its long-standing position of offering its residents the lowest average bills of any town hall in the UK.

Councillors last night (Wednesday) voted to reduce Wandsworth’s share of bills by one per cent.

Council leader Ravi Govindia said: “With households facing rising energy bills and other increasing costs, it is more important than ever for the council to be making sure our residents get true value for money by paying the lowest possible council tax bills while still enjoying high quality services.

“Wandsworth has an unrivalled track record over many decades of making sure its residents pay some of the country’s lowest council tax bills and I’m proud that this year we are the only town hall in London planning to actually reduce our share of bills.”

Over the past four years, Wandsworth residents have saved thousands of pounds in council tax when compared to neighbouring boroughs.

Comparing average council tax bills over that four-year timeframe shows that in Dyers Lane in Putney where the boroughs of Wandsworth and Richmond meet, residents on the Wandsworth side of that road have saved £4,847 over the past four years.

Similarly in Roehampton Vale where Wandsworth meets Kingston, average bills in Wandsworth are £4,406 lower over that same period.

A study of average bills among all neighbouring boroughs over the past four years shows the following:

Average council tax bills – Total for last four years

• Richmond - £7,774
• Kingston - £7,333
• Merton - £5,640
• Kensington & Chelsea - £5,593
• Lambeth - £4,651
• Hammersmith & Fulham - £4,073
• Westminster - £3,291
• Wandsworth - £2,927

Average bills across all the 32 London boroughs over the four years totals £5,174.

Cllr Govindia added: “Wandsworth is in a unique position to be able to do this because of the way we have carefully and prudently managed our finances over the years. That efficiency is now reaping the benefits for our residents with a net decrease in our share of council tax bills from April.”

Overall bills will increase because the Mayor of London is increasing the GLA’s share of council tax by 8.8 per cent, meaning the GLA precept will rise by almost £32 a year.

This takes Wandsworth’s Band D council tax bill for next year to £866 - of which £395 is payable to the Mayor.

Many Wandsworth residents will pay less however. More than 50,000 households in the borough are included in Bands A, B and C which pay less than the headline Band D figure.

Due to the overall high number of properties in the borough and distribution of Bands compared to other councils, Wandsworth’s average bill stands at £803 – the lowest in the country.

A list of Wandsworth bills across all bands for 2022/23 is as follows:

• Band A - £577
• Band B - £673
• Band C - £769
• Band D - £866
• Band E - £1,058
• Band F - £1,250
• Band G - £1,443
• Band H - £1,732

Residents in homes close to Wimbledon Common, Putney Heath and Putney Common are also statutorily required to pay an additional sum to independent organisation, the Wimbledon and Putney Commons Conservators to pay for the upkeep of these green spaces. These heaths and commons are not maintained or managed by the council.

For more information about council tax, how its calculated and what it pays for, visit www.wandsworth.gov.uk/counciltax.