PETERSFIELD Town Council has increased its share of council tax by almost four per cent.

The rise will see the bill for a Band D home owner go up by 3.39 per cent – equivalent to £5.34 a year or 53p a month.

The increase comes in the wake of news that the town council will no longer get an annual East Hampshire District Council grant of around £35,000.

In a report to councillors, town council clerk Neil Hitch said the proposed council tax increase wouldn’t cover the unexpected loss of the grant.

But he added the increase, and council tax income from the new homes in the town would help minimise the loss.

Briefing fellow councillors, finance and general purposes committee chairman George Watkinson said the precept for the year from April 2018 would be £589,390.

He added that the revenue budget for the same period would be £1,010,778.

The increase and budget were agreed by members at a full council meeting last Thursday, in the council chamber at the Town Hall

In an effort to keep the increase as low as possible, committee budgets for the financial year from April 2018 to April 2019 were cut back as much as possible.

Cllr Watkinson said it was expected that, due to widespread cash cutbacks, grant requests to the council were likely to increase.

He stressed that grant awards had to be kept to a number the council could afford.

Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner Michael Lane is also intent on increasing the police share of residents’ council tax bill.

He will be putting his proposal for a £12 per year increase in the amount a Band D household pays for policing to the Police and Crime Panel this Friday.

He said: “Based on the public consultation results, and informed by the professional judgement of the Chief Constable on the resourcing she needs to minimise risk, I will be putting to the Police and Crime Panel my proposal for an increase of £1 per month for a Band D household.”

It is also expected that Hampshire County Council will increase its share of council tax, in an effort to offset a £140m cut in government funding.

The county figure is due to be decided early next month.

East?Hampshire District?Council has set out an ambition to be a self sustaining council, and a freeze in council tax this year.

But a spokesman said the decision on EHDC’s council tax bill to residents for the year from April has not yet been taken.