RESIDENTS in the Tendring district will see a council tax "hike" of almost £55 a year from April.

County Hall, Tendring Council and Essex Police are all increasing what they charge in tax in face of huge Government cuts. The fire brigade is also recommending an increase.

It means the average band D home in the district will pay £1,502.55 a year in council tax in 2016/7 – an increase of £54.59.

Households that come under parish and town councils will pay more.

Essex County Council receives the lion’s share of the bill – £1,130.13, a 1.99 per cent increase of £43.38 a year.

County Hall has to save more than £1million a week for the next four years.

Its finance boss, John Spence, said despite the pressures, the budget outlined £1.8billion of spending on public services for residents and a £1billion capital investment plan for the next three years.

“The budget shows the difficult decisions we need to take in order to secure Essex’s future, and ensure we can protect front-line services and care for our most vulnerable residents,” he said.

“We are proud of being a low tax council, but the impact of cuts from Government gives us little option but to make this increase, equating to 84p per week for a band D property.

Essex Police have asked for an extra £4.95 a year, an increase of 3.4 per cent, bringing their total council tax bill to £152.10 a year.

Police and crime commissioner Nick Alston said the increase was needed to limit the impact of funding cuts that would see more than 200 jobs cut from the force and front counters close.

Mr Alston said: “I am conscious even small increases in tax can cause hardship, but Essex Police remains significantly under-funded compared with other police forces.”

Tendring Council has increased its bill by £5 to £152.64 a year, a 3.4 per cent increase.

Conservative leader Neil Stock blamed Government cuts – and warned further services could be axed.

“I am wholly committed to protecting front-line services wherever I can,” he said.

“What I cannot or will not say is that there will not be any further reductions. If I did, I would be acting irresponsibly by giving false expectations at a time of significant and, frankly, unprecedented cuts in Government funding.

“There will undoubtedly be further cuts to existing services coming down the line as we deal with the severity of Government taking away our income and we will have to face up to the responsibility of those decisions as and when they emerge.” Essex Fire Authority is recommending an increase of £1.26 – bringing its share of the overall bill to £67.68, an 1.9 per cent increase.

Harry Davis, of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: “That’s a substantial tax hike which will hit residents incredibly hard.

“Councils pleading poverty seemingly forget that hard-pressed families – who already pay a huge amount in tax – face similar financial constraints themselves.”