A WHACKING 13 per cent - that's how much Blackpool council tax bills will go down this April - with no cuts in services.

The good news, exclusively forecast last month in the Citizen, is "a win, win situation for Blackpool, with better services and less tax," said Labour council leader Councillor Ivan Taylor.

The 13.19 per cent cut comes largely as a result of Blackpool becoming a unitary authority - Blackpool's taxes previously subsidised other parts of Lancashire.

Now it will exercise its own control of major services like education and social services, previously run by Lancashire County Council.

"I'm very pleased," said Coun Taylor, "because obviously it's not only a good cut in the tax, it's also being done without any cuts in services - indeed, with 5.7 per cent more going into education.

"It's a great credit to Blackpool Council's prudent financial management and to its hard work in gaining unitary status which has enabled us to get these results.

"April 1 will be a big day for Blackpool - a whole new start." Conservative leader Coun John Woolley commented: "Naturally we welcome any reduction that can be made for the council taxpayers, but for the past two years they've been selling council properties and cutting services to get themselves in this position.

"The reserves were there to do it this year, but we'll have to see next year if it's a similar story."

Liberal Democrat spokesman Coun Edmund Wynne said: "We think it's a good thing to give people the benefit of some reduction but we feel, rather than save a few pounds they would rather see better services, such as more street cleansing, more safety measures round schools - first let's make it a better town to live in."

However, he conceded, Blackpool is already planning to spend right up to its capping limit for day-to-day running of services.

Among its £12m capital investments, the council will spend £4m on housing improvements, £5.4m on coastal protection and £0.75m on town centre revitalisation and the new job-creating technology park, due to open in August.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.