MALVERN Town Council could next year increase its precept to householders for the first time in eight years.

But the rise might be as little as 50p a year – one per cent – for the occupiers of a band D property in the town. Members of the council’s finance and administration committee had considered proposals by officers to increase the precept by 2.5 per cent in April 2009.

But at a meeting of the committee last week they went through all the budget proposals for 2009/10 and by using some reserves and shaving bits off the proposals here and there, they agreed to recommend a one per cent increase to the full council, which meets on Tuesday, December 16.

The decision just scraped through with three votes for, two against and one abstention. The last time the town council increased its part of the council tax was in 2001/02.

Since then the precept has either been reduced or stayed constant despite rising costs.