WILTSHIRE Council set its budget on Tuesday and decided to freeze the level of council tax residents pay for the fifth year on the trot.

Tidworth’s representative at County Hall, Cllr Mark Connolly, said: “This is good news for all of Wiltshire’s residents.

“It is likely that the police and fire services will i n c r e a s e their council tax by a little under two per cent.

“Tidworth T o w n Council had agreed to increase its council tax by 2.6 per cent, which is less than £3 a year on a Band D property in the town.

“Wiltshire Council has also agreed to reduce the proposed cuts in its Youth Services from £500,000 to £250,000.”

Wiltshire’s overall budget of £333.1m is almost £7.5m lower than in 2013/14.

At the same time the council faces increased demand for key services, such as care for vulnerable children and adults and highways maintenance, plus inflation pressures.

As a result it had to find £25.5m of savings through working more innovatively and efficiently.

The Revenue Support Grant (RSG) from c e n t r a l Government for next year (2014/15) is £ 6 3 . 2 m – £ 1 2 . 8 m lower than in 2013/14.

Cllr Jane Scott, leader of Wiltshire C o u n c i l said: “This has been a challenging budget to set but I’m pleased we have yet again been able to freeze council tax.

“The ongoing reduction in central Government funding combined with increased demand has meant that once again we have had to take an innovative approach to ensure that we can continue to provide vital frontline services.”