EAST LANCASHIRE MP Peter Pike has clarified remarks over exempting local homes in the bottom band for council tax from payments following protests from councils.
In a speech at Westminster the Burnley MP appeared to suggest that the best way to persuade people to repair and buy Victorian terraced houses in the area was to exempt them from council tax if they were in Band A.
This infuriated local authorities throughout East Lancashire worried about a huge loss of income.
Now, Mr Pike has explained he was not proposing that owners should cease to pay the cash levy towards local authority services.
Instead he was saying that government plans to make vendors prepare a sellers pack for potential purchases at a cost of £400 would be a mistake.
His proposal was to exempt homes in council tax Band A from the requirement to prepare such a pack.
Mr Pike said today: "There has been a misunderstanding. The exemption I proposed applied only to sellers packs not generally to council tax."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article