A DOUBLE inflation council tax rise of 7.8 per cent faces Burnley householders this year - taking the total bill for the vast majority of those living in terraces to £632.

The rise - equal to that announced by neighbouring Pendle council - will be presented to councillors in Burnley on Wednesday.

It means that householders in the mid-range D group will pay £948 in the coming year, with the charge for Band A being £632.

The council has been allowed to increase its overall spending for the first time in five years, with a £500,000 rise as the Government relaxes its capping regime.

But rising costs have still forced the council to find £633,000 of savings which the Labour-controlled authority has met without the staff redundancies and service cuts which had earlier been feared. Burnley has only raised its share of the total council tax bill by 4.5 per cent but because of a larger rise in Lancashire county and police authority demands, which make up more than 80 per cent of the total, the final percentage rise will be 7.8 per cent, if ratified by the full council.

Council chiefs are hopeful the budget will allow an extra £60,000 for street cleaning, with more cash for community consultation and crime reduction initiatives.

Finance chairman Peter Kenyon said he was pleased that the council had benefited from the best ever government grant settlement.

"We realise the rise is above the present level of inflation but to keep the increase in line with inflation would have meant that the improvements to services that people have been asking for could not have been afforded."

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