COUNCIL tax in the Cotswolds will be reduced by five per cent, with parking charges also frozen.

Cotswold District Council decided to reduce its share of the tax at its budget meeting on Tuesday.

It means that those living in a Band D property will be paying £126.40 per year – down from £133.05.

The reduction will come into effect on April 1 and came as a surprise, as the council had previously proposed just a three per cent cut.

Cllr Lynden Stowe, leader of the Conservative-run council, proposed the five per cent cut – which is the biggest council tax reduction in the country.

He made an assurance that all frontline services would be retained, and the council also voted to freeze car parking charges, leisure centre and Corinium Museum admission fees, and green waste collection charges.

Afterwards, he said: “I have always maintained that it is not our job to take more money than we need to deliver our services to residents, and I am very pleased that we have been able to leave as much as possible in the taxpayer’s pocket."

He added that savings had been possible due to joint-working partnerships with other councils, which has seen some services and staff shared.

At the meeting, Liberal Democrat group leader Cllr Joe Harris told Cllr Stowe that a reduction was a bad idea considering the "future financial uncertainty" of the country.

He said: “You are highlighting your incompetencies in reducing council tax. ”

Cllr Harris said money should be spent on improving the council’s services and reducing parking charges.

“We do not want cheap election stunts,” he added.

Cllr Stowe responded by telling Cllr Harris that the council was not pulling an election stunt and had been making similar decisions over council tax for the past few years.

Last year there was a three per cent council tax cut, with a five per cent reduction the previous year.

Cllr Stowe said: “We have been doing it for the last few years. Last year we cut it by three per cent and it wasn’t an election then."

Several other proposals put forward at the meeting by Cllr Stowe were also passed, including giving each council ward member up to £2,000 a year to spend on environmental issues in their area.

The Lib Dems suggested several proposals at the meeting such as investing £40,000 a year on the provision of litter picks on A and B roads, and cutting Sunday charges at the Brewery Car Park in Cirencester.

However, when the proposals were put to the vote they were rejected by the majority of councillors.