For the sixth year running the Vale of White Horse District Council has agreed to freeze the amount of council tax people pay for district council services. The council tax freeze means that for 2016/17 people living in a band D property will continue to pay just £116.69 a year for Vale services - that's just over £2 a week! The Council is also committing to more than £3m to improve car parking in the district. The success of the 2hr free parking introduced by the Conservatives has meant that more people are now using our market towns than ever before. The Council will be improving some of the existing facilities to make them better for the public, but is also keen to create new parking spaces either by expanding existing car parks or finding new location. There are no firm proposals for expansions yet, but the Council has agreed to try to identify new and innovative ways to meet the needs to people wishing to park in our towns. Cllr Matthew Barber, Leader of Vale of White Horse District Council, said: “We’re freezing council tax for the sixth year running, which should help lessen the effect on people’s wallets from increases elsewhere. We’re again freeing up more money for community groups and will be making some welcome improvements to our car parks across the district. While others are cutting services and increasing taxes we are continuing to come up with new ways of working and sharing resources meaning that we can continue to provide first class services for our residents.” Budget brief... ► New corporate services contract set to save nearly £1m a year - every year! ► £950,000 to improve Charter multi-storey car park in Abingdon, including upgrading the toilets ► £100,000 a year extra for adaptations to help make homes more suitable for disabled residents ► £90,000 over the next three years to replace playground equipment that’s reached the end of its life ► £30,000 to help support community events to mark Her Majesty the Queen’s 90th birthday ► £60,000 for a one year district-wide deep cleanse trial to help tidy up pavements and public footpaths ► £100,000 available in grants for community projects ► £80,000 over the next two years to support town vitality projects in Faringdon and Wantage ► £10,000 a year to help community flood groups ► £50,000 to carry out a feasibility study into parking across the district – up to £2million additional funding has been set aside to improve parking from 2017/18, depending on the results of the study