The amount of council tax Chesham residents pay to the town council is to increase by two per cent.

The raise was agreed by members after the central government grant the council receives to mitigate reductions in council tax income was reduced by more than £17,000.

Members said the increase was necessary when they met at the Town Hall on Monday, January 19.

The grant passed onto Chesham Town Council from Chiltern District Council decreased from £111,618 to £60,320 last year, with the figure being cut by a further £17,234 to £43,086 in the new financial year.

Bill Richards, town clerk, said: “The town council bitterly regrets having to increase the council tax at all. However Chesham Town Council’s council tax levy only represents around 6.5 per cent of the overall council tax bill for Chiltern District.

“The increase of 2.04 per cent on a Band D property equates to less than four pence per week and indeed the percentage increase is actually slightly less than the amount we have lost from the reduction in Council Tax Mitigation Grant.

“Considering the many services we provide - Lowndes Park and all our other parks and open spaces; the children’s play areas which we are continuing to renovate; the Elgiva Theatre; the Chesham Moor Gym and Swim Centre with its open air swimming pool; the Town Hall; the Cemetery and the allotments – we do not consider the rise unreasonable, in light of the lost grant. In fact we have only been able to set what is, in effect, a zero increase on our services because the continuing good income-generating performances of both the Elgiva Theatre and Chesham Moor Gym and Swim Centre.”