RESIDENTS in Forest Heath will see a below inflation (RPI) rise in the district council's portion of Council Tax if councillors agree a recommendation before them.

The Forest Heath rise means the occupier of an average value property (Band D) will pay £128.95 a year to the district council which has the lowest council tax in Suffolk. This equates to an increase of under 9p a week on a Band D property and over three quarters of our residents will pay less.

The central Government grant for Forest Heath was significantly below inflation at 1.1% which is a significant reduction in real terms.

Leader of Forest Heath District Council, Councillor Geoffrey Jaggard said: "It is important to realise that Forest Heath has the lowest Council Tax in Suffolk and yet receives the smallest grant settlement from the Government. This low grant settlement is very disappointing.

"Despite the financial pressure which this places upon the council we have managed to achieve our goal of setting a below inflation increase of 3.6% whilst continuing to maintain and improve service delivery through good financial management."

Of all the Council Tax collected by Forest Heath District Council less than 10% is retained by the authority. Most of the money goes to Suffolk County Council and the county's Police Authority.