Emma Knights People living in Dereham may soon have to pay an extra £10 a year in council tax - but the money will be used to improve services in the town.Dereham Town Council will decide at a meeting on Tuesday whether to increase its share of council tax by £10 a year for band D properties.

Emma Knights

PEOPLE living in Dereham will soon have to pay an extra £10 a year on average in council tax for services in the town - but the money will be used to improve what they get.

Dereham Town Council decided on Tuesday to increase what it requests in council tax by £10 a year for band D properties. This would equate to

an extra 20p per week for householders.

The cash is just one chunk of what council taxpayers must find - the rest of the cash going to Breckland Council, Norfolk County Council, the fire and rescue service and Norfolk Police.

Town clerk Tony Needham said the extra money was needed to cover additional costs such as higher heating bills, improve existing services and set money aside for major capital projects.

The council plans to spend some of the extra money on: investing an additional £3,000 on maintaining trees in the cemetery; £7,000 on more bus shelters in Toftwood; litter bins and dog waste bins; £8,000 on more Christmas lights next year; £10,000 on opening the Cowper Road toilets seven days a week.

The extra money would also mean more funds could be saved for future capital projects such as developing the town's Memorial Hall and having more open spaces in Dereham.

Councillor Robin Goreham said: "It is £10 a year. Ninety pence a month doesn't seem a staggering amount. The council does provide value for money."

Existing services the council is responsible for in the town include the Memorial Hall, allotments, cemetery and churchyard, Bishop Bonners Cottage, Assembly Rooms, markets, Community Car scheme, recreation ground, flower baskets, tennis courts, skate park, Neatherd Moor, Etling Green, toilets and numerous dog waste bins, litter bins and bus shelters.