MALVERN Wells Parish Council is to increase its Council Tax precept by 23 per cent.

At a meeting on Tuesday councillors set the precept for 2006-07 at £57,500 compared to last year's £46,500, blaming increasing government regulations and statutory responsibilities for the increase.

Chairman Brian Wilcock said part of the increase was simply catch-up as the council had only increased the precept by a very small amount over the last few years.

New auditing rules have pushed up costs in the last 12 months, as have rules affecting the way council clerks are employed and paid.

Coun Wilcock said some money had also been allocated to the council's garden of remembrance project.

Other items discussed at the meeting included complaints from residents that Malvern Hills District Council's issue of one black bin bag per week was not enough for many families.

Coun John Tretheway is to table a question about bin bag allocation at MHDC's next meeting.

Coun Barry Knibb said: "Every household is given one bag a week, regardless of whether it's a small one-person flat or a large family home paying five times more Council Tax".

The county council's highways department will be asked to repair spring-loaded hinges on gates next to cattle grids on Peachfield Common, since a local farmer re-introduced sheep there last week.

The gates are meant to be self-closing to keep sheep out of residential areas like Fruitlands.

The council is to contact Malvern Hills Conservators about opening up the views from some of the benches in the Malvern Wells area.

The council will also contact police about speeding traffic in Holywell Road to see if an unmanned speed-monitoring device can be installed to assess the extent of the problem.