COUNCIL tax looks set to rise to help bridge a £1.2million gap in Braintree Council's budget next year.

The council wants to increase its share of council tax bills by £4.95 a year.

The 2.7 per cent hike would see average band D households pay £189.63 per year for district council services, which make up just a fraction of overall council tax bills.

The Tory-run council says its proposed budget for the next financial year will see "significant investment" into the district while also protecting frontline services.

Bosses have identified savings and additional income of £523,000 this year.

A spokesman said: "The council will focus on the things that matter to residents and businesses most over the next 18 months to help the district bounce back stronger – connecting people and places, enhancing our environment, supporting our communities, promoting prosperity and delivering and innovating."

The council has pledged to "substantially strengthen" planning enforcement, invest in climate change initiatives, create a better connected network of high quality cycling and walking routes, and continue food and drink carton collections to boost recycling.

There will also be play area improvements at Shaw Road in Witham, De Vere Road in Earls Colne, Church Street in Bocking and Acorn Avenue in Braintree.

Council leader Graham Butland said: “This has been another challenging year but we have worked extremely efficiently to support our residents, businesses and communities throughout – helping those impacted the most by the pandemic whilst continuing to run all our regular services and increase our income through investments.

"We want to keep residents’ council tax bills down as much as possible, but with the increased demand on our services from the pandemic and unavoidable cost pressures there are still difficult decisions to make.

“We have a £1.2million budget gap to fill over the next few years, and subject to any longer-term financial settlement we may get from the Government, we may have no other option than to ask local taxpayers for a very small increase in council tax to pay for the services that improve health, homes, jobs and infrastructure.

Finance boss John McKee added: "Last year we were in a very fortunate position to be able to freeze council tax to support residents during a financially difficult time, which many councils were not able to do.

"But providing help through the pandemic while also fulfilling a legal duty to set a balanced budget and provide essential services remains extremely challenging which is why we’ve proposed to make a small increase this year to avoid going down the route to cutting services our residents need and value."

The final budget and council tax proposals go before a full council meeting in February.