A BUDGET of £815,000 has been approved by Malvern Town Council after rejecting a 'cheaper' alternative proposed by MTAG's Adrian Ward.

It represents a cut of £34,000, or four per cent, on this year's spending.

The budget was passed by 16 votes to five with one abstention and is roughly equivalent to an £82-a-year levy on the average Band D property, compared to £84.54 this year.

A similar majority had earlier voted down a budget of £750,000 - or £80 Band D levy - proposed by Coun Adrian Ward (MTAG, West).

The council opted instead to accept the recommendations of a budget working party that had targeted bus shelters, litter bins and sports facilities in its funding plans.

A total of £25,000 has been put aside for improvements to Victoria Park, including the demolition of the grandstand. There is also a £5,000 pot for the town's Golden Jubilee celebrations.

Working party chairman Coun Ralph Madden (MTAG, Trinity) introduced the budget after the council decided against an earlier proposal to exclude the press and public. He suggested it was a financial plan for the next three years.

Coun Madden lamented the authority's rising general maintenance costs for sports pitches, bus shelters and gas lamps. These are projected to go up 55 per cent, from £50,692 this year to £78,315 in 2002/03

"Hooliganism is a major problem in this town," he said.

Coun Madden welcomed the opportunity to spend on priority projects, such as new bus shelters, and highlighted the need for continuous improvement in operations. He said that the cashflow situation was being addressed and that the council's Belle Vue Terrace offices had to be made a lot more cost effective.

However, Coun Adrian Ward (MTAG, West) said he could bring the budget down to £750,000 without affecting the running of the council. He suggested 13 cost- cutting measures, including saving £21,000 by doing 'in-house' Best Value, using the press for publicity to save £5,000 and paying only £10,000, instead of £20,000, on Christmas lights. He also suggested "taking stock" of the empty Bran Tub building behind the council offices, saving £15,000.

Coun Ward said later: "I believe rather than rubbish them, if you look quite sensibly at these figures they make a lot of sense and you will realise that in time."

Coun Mike Angell (Lib Dem, Chase) said the working party budget showed the council was listening to the people of Malvern.

Coun Graham Myatt (Lib Dem, Trinity) suggested that it was difficult to see how the working party's budget could be reduced.

"I think this budget is tight and I think it's the right one," he said.

Coun Keith Smith (Green, Trinity) agreed. He said: "If the district council is putting its budget up by seven per cent what we're doing is a miracle."

But Coun Freda Johnson (MTAG, Langland) said the budget was "a sad indictment" on the council.

"I think the working party has forgotten the people we are representing," she said.