FEARS of a record £100 Council Tax rise for typical Winsford and Middlewich householders have this week been confirmed.

Local Government Minister Hilary Armstrong has confirmed previous draft figures which will mean an increase of 19 per cent in the amount that Cheshire County Council raises from tax payers in the two towns.

The minister's announcement means that she has rejected the county council's all-party plea to her for help.

County Hall leaders had pressed for more financial support because of the effect that local government reorganisation will have on bills.

On a typical Band D property valued at between £68,000 and £88,000 this means an increase of £106, although this figure drops to £98 after the Government's transitional relief of £8 is deducted.

Cty Clr Derek Bateman, whose Labour party will be the biggest in New Cheshire, said: "This is the news we have feared for some months.

"It is unfortunate that we failed to persuade the minister to use her special powers, but I suspect that she has been misled by her Whitehall officials who seemed to think there was no precedent for this."

Cty Clr Paul Findlow, the council's Conservative leader, said: "Throughout the long debate over local government reorganisation, the county council argued that higher Council Tax and reduced services would inevitably follow if no Government help were forthcoming.

"Today it is clear that this help amounts to a miserly £8 for a typical Band D householder."

Liberal-Democrat leader, Cty Clr David Lloyd-Griffiths, described the Government's lack of help as "scandalous."

He added: "The all-party delegation's plea to help local householders has clearly fallen on deaf ears."

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