DEBTORS, landlords, taxi drivers and whistleblowers are being targeted as part of plans by Pendle Council to recoup more than £77,000.

Extra fees will be sought from council tax and non-domestic rates defaulters, recovering an additional £16,000 in 2012-13.

And the hourly rate for building control work will be increased by 20 per cent from £42.73 to £51.22.

An explosion in the number of Freedom of Information Act requests, enquiring into the running of the authority, has sparked a review into charging for more complex cases.

The council dealt with around 70 per year when the act was first introduced in 2005 but 320 requests were lodged in 2010-11 and there has been 219 in the first six months of the current council year.

Taxi drivers will also be expected to pay the £44 required for a Criminal Records Bureau check, salvaging £8,000.

Several fees and charges, such as market rents, parking permits, local land charges and stray dog penalties, will remain the same, and others will rise by the current inflation rate of 4.7 per cent.

Coun Linda Crossley, finance cabinet member, said: "Our priority is to protect the services that matter most to residents.

“This is one way we’re managing our finances in a bid to protect these vital services.”

The cost of dealing with rodents and wasps is also set to increase by 15.4 per cent, from £26 to £30.

Dean Langton, the council’s finance head, said: “Where we're proposing an increase, in most cases it’s in line with inflation or less.

“Like every other council in the country, we're always looking at ways to achieve a balanced budget while maintaining our services.”

Most of the increases will come into force at the start of 2012.