WYCOMBE district councillors were expected to put up their share of the council tax by 8.9 per cent when they met yesterday.

People in the average Band D home will pay £97.01 a year from April for district services compared with £89.16 this year. Services include rubbish collection, grants, flood prevention, car parks and markets, street sweeping, community centres, and sports, entertainment and cultural facilities.

The increase is partly necessary to pay £1 million next year for the new rubbish collection contract. To the tax demands of the district has to be added £680.51 for county council services and £64.94 for Thames Valley Police.

There is also the money called for by parish and town councils throughout the district, which averages £27.77.

The smallest district council tax rise for next year could have been 2.5 per cent just to take account of inflation but would have left the council short of money.

If councillors had spent the maximum possible, the increase would have been as high as 14.1 per cent.

That would have meant the district Band D Council tax would have been £101.70.