TWO neighbouring councils have approved their budgets for the next financial year, which will lead to council tax rises in both areas.

Residents of Sedgefield will see their council tax rise by three per cent, while in Wear Valley the increase will be 2.95 per cent.

Sedgefield Borough Council leader Bob Fleming said: "Spending is going to go up by 13 per cent but we are only looking for a three per cent increase in rates, which I think is reasonable."

The change will see the band D tax rise from £175.60 to £180.87 - although two-thirds of properties fall into the lower band A, which will be paying 7p a week extra to the authority.

Councillor Fleming said: "Our budget focus this year has again been around the clean, green and safe agenda, with special emphasis on regeneration in its widest sense."

It includes taking the Neighbourhood Wardens programme mainstream, modernisation of the CCTV network, the creation of play areas and cash for housing repairs, particularly for elderly and disabled tenants.

Both authorities have introduced free travel for older and disabled people.

Wear Valley is also spending £150,000 on improving security in old peoples' bungalows and other vulnerable properties, providing extra money to the benefits service and putting £60,000 into a neighbourhood fund.

A Wear Valley District Council spokesman said: "This rise is lower than in 2005/6 and taking, the last three years overall, our levels of council tax are the fourth lowest in the whole of the North-East and North Yorkshire. This is a track record to be proud of."

While members of both councils congratulated themselves and officers for managing to avoid major service cuts, they conceded that there was one issue that would cause concern.

Tenants living in Sedgefield's 9,000 and Wear Valley's 4,500 council houses will see rent go up by five per cent because of the Government's national rent restructuring initiative.

In Sedgefield, that will mean an average rise of £8.20 a week and (2.40 a week in Wear Valley.

Sedgefield Borough Council's budget also had to take into account a major job evaluation exercise, in which the pay of all 1,000 council staff was reviewed.

Details of the review will go before cabinet in the next few weeks.