EAST Hampshire District Council will increase its share of the council tax by two-and-a-half per cent, it has announced.

The increase will add an extra £3.28 to the average Band D council tax bill but is only the second rise proposed by EHDC in the last six years.

Cabinet members who backed the 2012/13 budget last Wednesday heard the small increase would raise £160,000.

But the rise could have been higher and is largely down to key partnerships that will save tax payers nearly £2m per year.

For full story, see this week's Liphook Herald.