New Homes Bonus - HDC still doesn't get it.

I've been banging on for sometime about how badly HDC is treating St Neots over the New Homes Bonus. Now it was on the front page of the Hunts Post a few weeks ago.

HDC has been very disingenuous about the New Homes Bonus. It started off by not acknowledging the New Homes Bonus by changing its name to New Homes Rewards Grant. Of course this new stream of funding is a boon to HDC who were in a quandary, before this new money was introduced, as whether to cut services or ramp up the Council Tax. By nicking the New Homes Bonus for HDC to spend they have taken the sting out of any cuts. Nor does HDC need to look to a referendum to get Council Tax up to a sustainable amount.

All this and no council tax freeze for next year.

In the article HDC is quoted as saying:

Err...No...Not quite. The New Homes Bonus IS extra money. The other grants have been reduced. If HDC wasn't getting New Homes Bonus, the grant money would still have been reduced.

Previous articles on New Homes Bonus:

New Homes Bonus. What is in it for St Neots?
New Homes Bonus - Money for Local Communities. Where is St Neots?
What is the point of the new developments?Conservative Leaflet for Eynesbury now receivedNew Homes Bonus - where now?If the New Homes Bonus is bribery then bring it on!
HDC still does not understand the New Homes Bonus