PEOPLE with homes in the Harrogate district will be paying almost eight per cent more for their local council services from April.

North Yorkshire County Council has already indicated it is likely to ask £84 a year more for a Band D property, with another £67 on top to pay for a bolstered police force.

However, with the Harrogate authority's 7.9 per cent added to the total, the average bill across the borough will be about £163 higher than in the last financial year.

Leader of the council, Councillor Geoff Webber, said new Government initiatives are largely to blame.

He said the council has to meet new waste recycling targets, introduce measures to improve the policing of the benefits system and upgrade its computer network to improve online access to its services - all without the necessary funds from Westminster.

"It seems that, every week, a new Government initiative drops on our doormat, but rarely with a cheque enclosed,'' he said.

"When you add these to a four per cent staff pay rise, together with a one per cent increase in employers' national insurance contribution and a further one per cent in employers' pension contributions and you begin to see just how stretched we are."

The authority's Conservative group said the increase need not have been higher than 5.5 per cent, which would have meant householders paying an average of 7p less a week.

"The proposal was carefully costed and would use precious resources far more efficiently," said spokesman Tony Simpson.

However, Councillor Webber said the move was voted down as it would have meant using £218,000 from the authority's reserves.