WEST Somerset District Council members approved a new, slimmer version of the authority's on-going three year spending plan - saving around £1 million in the process.

In a report to Wednesday's full council meeting, assistant chief executive Rod Latham said changes were needed "in the light of changing circumstances, both nationally and locally".

Councillors were told last month that plummeting interest rates were knocking hundreds of thousands of pounds off council investments.

However, the changes approved at the meeting only affected the capital element of the spending plan - the money allocated to buy land, vehicles and plant and to pay for building works and associated grants.

The revenue aspect of the plan - covering the cost of running services and the worst affected by the interest rate cuts - was not included in the discussion.

Mr Latham said: "Members will be aware that the revenue budget has been the subject of earlier reports to cabinet and, indeed, will be addressed again in a report to be submitted to cabinet in November [Monday].

"This report deals only with aspects of the plan which will be funded from capital resources and thus constitute the capital programme."

He said councillors were not allowed to juggle finances between the two pots, therefore ruling out any possibility of shoring up the cash-strapped revenue budget from the capital fund.

But he advised that the capital programme had been devised to have "a positive effect" on the revenue budget, as he anticipated efficiency savings and hoped the council would offset some of its capital costs through grants and the sale of land.

Much of the £1 million saved in the revised budget had resulted from the axing of Watchet's Anchor Street social housing scheme.