A POLITICAL storm has erupted over planned cuts of £1m to council services - after bosses pledged to uphold their promise of keeping council tax rises to a minimum.

In its 2003 election manifesto, the ruling Labour group of Derwentside District Council vowed it would keep its council tax rise down to 2.5pc in this financial year and the next.

But leader Alex Watson has warned that, after a disappointing settlement from Government, the council will have to find savings of £1m next year if it is to honour its promise.

The move has been criticised by members of the main opposition party - the Derwentside Independents - who say isolated rural communities will be hit the most.

The proposals include cuts to a parish precept of £24,000, to administration costs for communal rooms and the withdrawal of all public toilet provision, with the exception of Stanley and Consett. The Labour group also wants to axe maintenance funding for Stanley Bowls.

Coun Watson said: "It is again going to be an extremely difficult year, because of our poor financial settlement. We are going to suffer here and we have a tremendous hurdle to overcome."

He cautioned that 'non-priority services' would face cuts and that vacant posts for council officers will be frozen to keep down the wage bill.

He added: "There will be pain, but we have got to concentrate on high priority areas such as rolling out CCTV."

If the rise is agreed, the 70pc of householders in Derwentside who live in Band A properties will see a rise of around 7p per week. Band D properties will pay an extra 11p a week.

But the council's collection only amounts for 20pc of the total council tax bill and further hikes could come from other bodies such as precepts levied by the police and fire and rescue service.

Derwentside Independents leader Coun Watts Stelling said: "They call it non-priority services. That may well be so on the face of it, but not to people it affects the most. And those are the isolated rural communities who are going to be the hardest hit."

"It is all very well keeping promises, but £1m in cuts is too heavy a price to pay. It is bad management which has caught up with them."

The full council will make a decision on the rise on February 24, when it is expected to vote in favour of the 2.5pc increase.