PEOPLE across the Fylde face a rise in council tax in the coming financial year -- and some could be paying as much as 17.3 per cent more than last year.

In Blackpool, residents will be paying 17.3 per cent more on their council tax for 2002-3.

A Band D tax payer will face a rise of £140 to £950. But Blackpool's council tax will still be the lowest in Lancashire.

Residents in Wyre face an 8.06 per cent rise with those living in Band D properties set to face a bill of £1057.53 for the coming financial year, a rise from last year's bill of £978.66.

And in Fylde borough, residents face a 9.1 per cent price hike, taking Band D property bills to £1052.18.

In Blackpool, departments across the council will make more than £2 million in savings and hope to attract extra cash from European funding, the Lottery and central government to minimise the rise in council tax.

The council plans to spend an extra £4.5 million on education -- including 86 extra teachers and 86 extra school support assistants -- and £1 million on street cleaning which will include more jobs for street cleaners and investment in more modern equipment. An extra £500,000 will be spent on children's services and an extra £800,000 on household waste disposal and environmental costs in the coming financial year.

A council spokesman said that the measures would mean more jobs for teachers, social workers and street cleaners and that the budget should not result in any compulsory redundancies.

Council Leader Coun Roy Fisher said: "We've listened to what people have been telling us and these proposals are our way of responding to what they are telling us they want.

"The pressures facing the council clearly demonstrate the need to set council tax at an appropriate level to meet spending demands.

"We're not alone, and other authorities locally are also facing difficult budgets and significant increases in council tax, but Blackpool's will remain the lowest in Lancashire," he said.

Wyre's Council Leader Coun Pat Catlow said that the council knew it was facing a difficult year. "Already £245,000 of savings have been achieved in the current budget level for next and future years without reducing the level of service.

"However the situation has been made much worse through extra spending demands over which the council has no control.

"We reluctantly need to increase our council tax far higher than we would have liked in order to protect the current level of services that Wyre's council taxpayers have come to expect," she said.

She said the council needed to make further savings of over £205,000 in the coming year and around £600,000 the following year.

"This is a tall order and will require tough decisions to be made. But this administration has already shown that it is not afraid of making tough decisions on behalf of all the residents of Wyre.

"We will ensure that priority services are maintained to the highest standard possible within the resources available to us and at the least extra cost to our council taxpayers," said Coun Catlow.

Wyre's new cabinet will consider the proposed budget and council tax at a meeting today (Thursday) and the cabinet's decision will be considered by the full council on March 7.

In Fylde the council are expected to agree the amount of their council tax at a meeting on Monday.