AVERAGE Band D ratepayers in Alton face an inflation-busting 4.8 per cent tax hike on April 1 – equivalent to £86.53 extra annually on top of their £1,800 tax bill in 2020/21.

It comes after Hampshire County Council was the latest to set out its budget and tax proposals on Tuesday – with each of Alton’s local authorities now proposing increases to their shares of the tax bill in 2021/22 – as set out on Page 1.

Alton Town Council held its budget-setting meeting on Wednesday last week, with councillors agreeing to ask the average Band D home in Alton for £102.96 in 2021/22 – marking an increase of 3.5 per cent, equivalent to an extra £3.48 per year, or 6.7p per week.

Speaking after the meeting, town clerk Leah Coney said members were reluctant to raise tax at a time of great hardship for many residents, but opted for a “moderate” increase to the council’s tax demands to continue providing support to those hardest hit by the pandemic.

She said: “The headline was that despite such a dramatic loss of income in 2020, we have successfully balanced the books without drawing too heavily on our reserves.”

Alton will, though, make use of £110,730 of the council’s estimated £400,000-plus reserves in the next financial year, to support an “expansive” array of 16 capital projects.

These range from bucket swings for older children in the Public Gardens, to solar lighting for the perimeter at Jubilee Fields, a ‘pump’ cycle-type track at Northanger, upgrading the town’s CCTV network, riverside path upgrades at the Flood Meadows, improvements to the River Wey, starting the design phase for the new pavilion at Jubilee Fields and widening the perimeter path at Jubilee Playing Fields, resurfacing the pods at St Lawrence Church Yard, a replacement play area for Holybourne, a number of replacement benches for the Public Gardens, Holybourne and upgrading litter bins.

She continued: “The 3.5 per cent increase represents less than £23,000 in total, which is a tiny amount in the grand scheme of things.

“The town council has lost just under £91,000 in income over the past year – in everything from shop rents to cancelled events.

“The only reason we have managed to balance our books so far is by reducing our expenditure considerably – by more than £100,000.”