Council Tax in Hartlepool: A Decades Worth of Paying More & Getting Less....
- teessidetoday
- Apr 23
- 4 min read
Recent figured unearthed by HBC Exposed reveals a staggering increase in council tax paid by locals over the last decade, but services over the same period have declined sharply..
23rd April 2025
Residents in Hartlepool have seen their Council Tax bills skyrocket over the last decade, and it’s hitting them hard. Despite numerous restructures, redundancies & even volunteers left having to litter pick the streets, it seems the stark reality is that whilst household Council Tax bills have increased sharply over the last decade, people in Hartlepool really are now paying more.... & getting less !
Using Hartlepool Borough Councils own financial reports from the last ten years, HBC Exposed has now managed to find just how much you, as local taxpayers have paid extra in additional council tax whilst services have been cut, & senior officer salaries & pension contributions run a mock.
How Much Has Council Tax Gone Up?
Comparing the council’s own financial accounts from 2014/15 and 2025/26, the increases are eyewateringly steep:
Band D (average home):
2014/15: £1,689.99
2025/26: £2,495.63
Increase: £805.64 !
The increase is a similar story across all council tax bands for the ten year period:
Band A: Up from £1,126.66 to £1,663.75—an extra £537.09.
Band B: Up from £1,314.44 to £1,941.04—an extra £626.60.
Band H (biggest homes): Up from £3,379.98 to £4,991.26—an extra £1,611.28.
That’s a 47.7% jump over 11 years, or about 4.3% more each year. For 2025/26 alone, the council raised bills by almost 5%, with Hartlepool Borough Council again blaming rising costs & crippling budget deficits....
Hitting Your Pocket Hard
But Let’s be honest— increases like these when shown over the last ten years really do open your eyes... This is because wages haven’t gone up by nearly as much (usually 2-3% a year), and neither has inflation (also around 2-3% yearly). So, locals in Hartlepool are paying way more of their income on Council Tax now they did 10 years ago.
For a Band A household, that’s an additional £537 on their council tax bill from ten years ago—enough for a decent family holiday or a few months of groceries. For Band D, it’s £805, which could cover a big chunk of your energy bills.
Its raising questions over value for money !
Recent reports claim that whilst Hartlepool Borough Council has spent at least some money this year on the procurement of new street cleaning equipment & workers to man them, it comes nowhere close to addressing the level of service cuts which have been seen over the last ten years. Additionally, the public spotlight is being shone firmly on the councils senior management structure, where its claimed despite its former CEO being made redundant back in 2020 to pave the way for a restructure, any savings made from that restructure were quickly (& rather quietly) 'wiped out' by other overspends in the councils departments.
A decade ago, Dave Stubbs, the then CEO of Hartlepool Borough Council was said to be paid around £140,833, with Mr Stubbs receiving nothing in pension contributions due to the council financial report stating that Mr Stubbs ceased to be a member of the organisations pension scheme some two years prior to his departure, with the local council then having a senior officer spend across seven directorship roles costing local tax payers £626,806....
Fast forward to 2025/26, & the figures are nothing short of astounding. In just the space of a decade, Hartlepool Borough Councils senior officer wages has exploded from £626,806 ten years ago, to £943,186, an increase of £316,380, all whilst council services have been shaved to the bone & volunteers are left cleaning the streets...
Excuses are running out
The council’s own numbers reflect just how locals are being 'buttered up' for continual council tax increases, yet seemingly noting other to show for the increases other than a significantly 'bloated' top end management structure that's rapidly running out of excuses as to how they can 'leaver bar' additional funds from the public without there being a major backlash, with Hartlepool Labour MP Jonathan Brash becoming increasingly vocal over the issue of Council Tax & how it 'hammers' towns like, Hartlepool.
Whilst Brash is correct in that Council Tax seemingly is disproportionately targeting those who are struggling, whilst affluent areas such as Westminster pay significantly less, it cannot be ignored that over the last decade, services in Hartlepool have dwindled, but officer pay has continued to be lavishly increased off the backs of the most poorest. That signals a institution that's fundamentally unwilling to change its gravy train habits & has allowed council services to be run down so badly, they're now effecting not just staff morale, but increasingly the hostility being vented by the public towards an institution seen by many as 'corrupt'.
HBC claims they’re struggling, & that may be the case, taking into consideration that HBC spends around £32 million on services but only gets around £16 million from Council Tax—meaning they’re short on cash for things like bin collections, libraries, and social care, however when you take into consideration the increases locals are paying & the money shelled out to council officers, its seemingly obvious that were looking at an institution that's simply unwilling to change its ways, unwilling to adapt & unwilling to chop off the mega salaries to its top chosen few.
And whilst that continues, locals can expect many more Council Tax increases to come in the not too distant future, as Hartlepool Borough Councils 'top heavy' organisation becomes just too heavy now for people not to notice....
