GAZETTE & HERALD: COUNCIL tax bills in Chippenham are set to rise once again after town councillors voted to hike its portion of the charge by more than six per cent.

From April, Band D homeowners in Chippenham will have to pay an extra £8 a year towards the town council, raising bills from £113 to £121.

Last Wednesday, council leader Sandie Webb proposed a sum of £1,182,724 for the financial year 2005/2006.

This has gone up 6.75 per cent from last year's figure of £1,107,946.

Coun Webb said the council had done everything possible to keep the rise minimal.

"It started at 22 per cent and worked down to 6.75. But the list of responsibilities the council has taken on since 1996-1997 is almost endless," she said.

"This really is the bare bones. We couldn't have got it down any lower without cutting services."

But Coun Philip Alnatt still thought it was too much. "I know it's taken a lot of heartache, blood, sweat and tears to keep it down," he said. "But I still feel 6.75 per cent is too high."