BIDDULPH families face increases in their council tax bills of almost three times the rate of inflation from April.

Average bills in Biddulph will rise to £793.82 for band D homes, valued at between £62,000 and £88,000.

The new figure from April means that average bills in the town will have risen £138 in two years, an increase of about 20 per cent over 1997.

The 1999 band D figure for Biddulph is slightly higher than the average for the Moorlands, £789.18, which represents an 8.1 per cent increase.

That figure includes £106.21 for district council spending, a rise of 4.5 per cent, and £576.54 and £78.86 for county council and police authority spending respectively, equivalent to rises of 8.9 per cent in each case.

The Moorlands District Council plans to spend £8.04 million in 1999/2000, of which £3.35 million will come from council tax payers.

The Council tax bills for Biddulph are as follows, with house values in brackets.

Band A £529.21 (under £40,000)

Band B £617.42 (£40,000 to £52,000)

Band C £705.62 (£52,000 to £68,000)

Band D £793.82 (£68,000 to £88,000)

Band E £970.22 (£88,000 to £120,000)

Band F £1,146.63 (£120,000 to £160,000)

Band G £1,323.03 (£160,000 to £320,000)

Band H £1,587.64 (more than £320,000)

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