A letter calling on Michael Gove to reconsider allowing Croydon to increase council tax by 15 per cent has been written by councillors.

It comes days after Croydon Council voted against the 2023/24 budget which included the huge tax rise.

Councillors are due to consider the proposals again this Wednesday (March 8).

Croydon Mayor, Jason Perry, says there is “little choice” but to increase council tax in the borough.

However, over the weekend Croydon’s two Green Party councillors, Esther Sutton and Ria Patel, elected in May 2022, wrote to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

The department had given Croydon permission to make the 15pc council tax increase this April without the usual need for a referendum.

The letter reads: “We are writing to ask you to reconsider your decision to allow Mayor Perry to raise council tax in Croydon by 15pc and for you to fund Croydon fairly to protect our vital council services and protect those people suffering the most during this cost of living crisis.

“Croydon has been blighted by over a decade of bad decisions, dodgy deals, and secret contracts made by councillors and enabled by senior officers. These were done without the knowledge or approval of Croydon residents.

“We are now being told that another deal is being done between your department and Mayor Perry that is forcing Croydon residents to pay for the mess made by councillors’ bad decisions, while cutting services even more, and without residents having any opportunity to say whether they agree. This is neither fair nor democratic.”

Councils have to set a balanced budget by law and Croydon will attempt to do so again this week – the deadline is March 11.

At last week’s meeting, the last budget draft was voted down with 37 votes to 34.

Opposition councillors would need a two-thirds majority to pass an amended alternative budget at the next meeting.

Mayor Perry told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “It is disappointing that some councillors voted against the proposed budget earlier this week.

"It is easy to raise objections, but in order to protect vital services we have to find solutions – even when they mean making tough decisions.

“No one wants to increase council tax, myself included, but unfortunately Croydon has little choice.

"As I have previously described, our financial situation is unsustainable and the council cannot continue without a new form of help from government. But we need to meet them part way.

“I assure you that I am pushing for the best possible deal for our borough – including seeking a write-off of the toxic debt that hampers our ability to get back on track.

"But we have to demonstrate that we are willing to take difficult decisions locally to fix our borough’s finances and get Croydon to where it needs to be.”

Croydon Council has also asked the government for support in the form of £224million in bailout loans, known as capitlisation directions, and a £540m debt write-off.

The government confirmed it is “minded to” issue the capitlisation directions but conversations about the debt write-off are still ongoing.

When the decision to allow the huge increase was announced in February. Mr Gove said in a statement: “The government is of course conscious of the impact on local taxpayers, particularly those on low incomes, of having to foot part of the bill for their councils’ very significant failings.

"We have been clear to each of the councils that in implementing any additional increases, they should take steps to mitigate the impact on those least able to pay.”