Pendle Council shops to close under plans to switch Council Tax payments?
Pendle residents could be paying their council tax at their local post office or at shops with paypoints next year.
Proposals are to be put to Thursday’s meeting of the council’s Executive which would result in the closure of all council shops in Pendle except Nelson, resulting in savings of around £120,000.
Coun. Linda Crossley, who leads on finance, explains: “We’re looking at ways to expand the number of places where people can pay their business rates and council tax, while reducing the costs of collection for us.
“To meet the financial challenges which all local councils are facing, we need to look at offering services differently.
“This option has the benefit of offering more places for our local residents to pay, while saving money.”
The proposed system, called Allpay, uses bar codes.
If the move goes ahead, the council will put barcodes onto payment notices and invoices which can then be scanned, like paying for food at a supermarket.
Coun. Crossley said: “It could be much more convenient for people, as they can pay their council tax while sorting out other things at the post office, like buying stamps, for example.
“It also means residents don’t have to be in Pendle to make their payments.”
Pendle and Wyre are the only councils in Lancashire who are not currently using the Allpay system to collect cash payments.
If Pendle joins the scheme, bumping up the number of transactions across Lancashire to over 500,000, it will trigger lower transaction fees for all participating councils, leading to more savings.
The council shops which would close are those in Colne, Brierfield, Barnoldswick and Earby.
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Saturday 25 May 2013
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