COUNCIL tax in Droitwich Spa could rise if new Government proposals to share the district council's profit between other authorities goes ahead.

Wychavon District Council is set to lobby the Government over new proposals which will force it to share the money that comes from the sale of former council houses with other councils which need the money more.

If the bill goes ahead it will be harder for the district council to support its budget plans and keep council tax low - meaning Spa residents may be left footing the bill.

The council has joined forces with local authorities countrywide to act against the draft Local Government Bill published last month, which could see penalties for those that are debt free.

Appalled finance bosses at Wychavon are preparing a draft response to the bill outlining their concerns.

Wychavon's head of financial services, Sonia Rees, said: "If this bill becomes law it means it will be much harder for the council to support its commitment to investing in housing for Wychavon and it will be harder for us to earn the interest we need to support our budget plans and keep council tax low.

"Councils such as Wychavon should not be punished for being good at managing their finances. We transferred our houses to housing associations and the cash raised from selling those properties is ploughed back in to providing new ones.

"Careful management of the money raised when we transferred our stock has meant we have paid off all our debt.

"It has also allowed us to earn interest - we pump that back into our accounts to keep our council tax the lowest in Worcestershire.

"This situation is clearly unfair and Wychavon will do everything it can to lobby against these proposals and protect the interest of every residents in the district."