COUNCILLORS in Taunton Deane have done a u-turn on plans for a 3.45 per cent hike in Council Tax bills in the coming year.

Just a fortnight ago the borough council's leader Cllr John Williams announced the proposed increase in a bid to protect the economy and frontline services.

But last Thursday the authority's executive agreed to freeze the borough's share of Council Tax for the 2012/13 financial year.

Cllr Williams said: "We reviewed our proposals after taking soundings of other members and decided we must hold true to our community by not imposing an extra burden of Council Tax if at all possible.

"It was a particularly difficult decision because we have just been through a challenging budget setting process."

The council was already facing a £1.6 million reduction in its financial support from central Government and had anticipated a further £2m drop in income in the next two years.

Cllr Williams said the council believed £2.1m could be made through savings and income generation, thus achieving a balanced budget.

"A budget gap reappears in future years which is why we considered a modest increase to help us plan forward.

"The budget we have set focuses the savings on the process of running the council and we have managed to retain the frontline services that are so valued by all."

The proposal to freeze rather than increase Council Tax was put forward by deputy leader Cllr Mark Edwards: "I believe this is the right decision, despite the fact it will create more difficulty in setting future budgets as the gap will increase over the next few years," he said.

The final decision on Council Tax levels will be made by the full council next Tuesday (February 21).

West Somerset Council's ruling cabinet has also recommended a freeze, after opting to accept a Government grant of £50,000 for the zero rise rather than bringing in £70,000 by putting up its share of bills by 3.5 per cent.

But the final decision, again, will be made by the full council later this month.