STROUD Town Council has voted to raise its precept by nearly three per cent for the upcoming year.

The decision was made at a meeting on Monday night when the council set it’s precept at £431,800 – a 2.9 per cent increase – in order to partially offset the deficit on the 2014 to 2015 budget.

The figure set by councils as the precept is added to council tax bills – therefore increasing the precept means increasing the amount of council tax residents have to pay.

For residents in Stroud the increase will amount to £3.18 for an average Band D property.