Secretary of State Michael Gove agrees to meet with Morecambe MP David Morris over town council 'Frontierland tax' hike

As we reported earlier this month, Mr Morris revealed in his Lancaster Guardian column that he had asked Michael Gove to send a task force to investigate Morecambe Town Council's drastic council tax increase.

The town council's share of the council tax will see a Band A property paying an extra £1.32 per week, which they say will go towards plans for Frontierland.

But Mr Morris said the town council was "expecting to raise £1m more from Morecambe's taxpayers to buy Frontierland, that's already owned by the Morecambe taxpayer and not for sale" and accused them of creating a reserve fund "to pay for vanity projects".

And on Monday, during Communities Local Government and Housing questions, Mr Morris raised the 237% hike.

Speaking in the chamber he said: "The town council has raised the precept from £200,000 two years ago up to £1.5million.

"Apparently, that is to buy a piece of land that is already owned by the public for a knock-down price of £1million, when it was bought for £3million.

"If that is not the case, the remaining money will go into a fund. As we both know, funds cannot be raised against what is already there, unless it is half. Will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss the issue as soon as possible?"

Secretary of State Michael Gove responded: "We can definitely meet.”

A spokesman for Morecambe Town Council said: "The town council’s precept is the only part of a council tax bill that is solely spent on local projects within Morecambe's boundary.

"This means that, unlike all other tax levies, any money collected by Morecambe Town Council will not be spent elsewhere and will remain solely for the benefit of local people.

"The council has collated the thoughts and ideas of the community regarding the future of the Frontierland site, and has created a £1m Community Action Fund.

"The capital reserve has been raised through a precept increment, reflecting the results of a community consultation which identified the largest portion of residents willing to contribute to the fund could afford a sum of £50 to £100+.

"This one-off increase is essential to deliver a community project for the people of Morecambe and accounts for approximately 6% of the total council tax bill - with the majority of households in Morecambe paying an additional £1.32 - £1.53 per week - in the 2023/24 financial year.

"At its meeting held in February, members voted in favour of creating a reserve that could be used to mobilise the community to attract additional funding.

"It was clarified that the town council was not voting to open its chequebook to Lancaster City Council for a sum of £1m to purchase the former Frontierland site and residents are advised to be wary of any information published to the contrary.

"The Action Fund will ensure the council is in the best position possible to put forward a feasible and meaningful bid to develop a sustainable project on the Frontierland site, and members are looking forward to working positively with Lancaster City Council to ensure the future needs of the community are met."

"The council hopes to receive the support of David Morris MP, Lancashire County Council and Lancaster City Council to achieve its vision, which has been locally coined as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build community wealth and social capital."

The spokesman added that they had called for a meeting with Mr Morris and Mr Gove at the beginning of March to discuss the financial pressure placed on parish and town councils.