Car parking charges in the Forest of Dean will be frozen for a further year after the budget was agreed by full council on Thursday, February 25th.

The net budget of £10,579,300, which includes savings of £164,500 for 2016/17, means residents in a Band D property will be paying £165.52 a year council tax for the District Council portion - that equates to less than 45 pence a day.

Savings for the coming year come from reductions in the senior management team and through removing the contribution made to certain reserves.

Work in the capital programme for 2016/17 includes £500,000 to improve leisure facilities, £41,330 to refurbish car parks and £472,000 to support the provision of new affordable housing.

Cllr Richard Boyles, Cabinet Member for Finance, Asset Management and Performance said: “We are very pleased to be able to freeze car parking and green waste licence charges, particularly in the difficult financial climate we are facing.

“We envisage medium term savings from the 2020 Vision shared services partnership, which should enable us to have a balanced budget over the next four years,

“It is a tough time at the moment for all councils but through careful planning and sensible budgeting we are able to maintain our existing services whilst keeping charges low.”