Homeowners in Tonbridge and Malling must pay 4.7 per cent more for their borough council services this year.

The rise equates to 14.4p more per week for the average householder.

The total Band D bill will be £1,393.98, plus a small amount for parish councils.

The council is hoping to avoid being capped by the government by keeping its increase to below five per cent.

But cuts have had to be made, primarily in the capital grants usually given to parish councils and grants to voluntary bodies.

Presenting the budget, the cabinet member for finance Cllr David Aikman (Con) told the council on Thursday: "We’re sorry but we’ve had no alternative but to cut back on some of the assistance we give to the parish councils and voluntary organisations."

But he said the council was setting a budget for "unprecedented times" in the face of "hostility" from the government.

Cllr Aikman said that the proportion of the council’s income provided centrally from the government had fallen constantly over time; from 64 per cent in 1997 to just 47 per cent today.

Cllr Aikman also described the vast disparity geographically in government assistance across the regions – with the South East ending up the poorest.

He said: "In the North West, the government gives councils on average £97.24 per head; in the South East only £68.92. In Tonbriodge and Malling, the government values us at just £56.23 per head."

Describing a "death by a thousand cuts" Cllr Aikman said that government policies had also affected other areas of the council’s potential income: investment income had reduced to all but zero because of the slashing of interest rates, and income for fees and charges levied by the council had fallen with the recession.

Cllr Mark Worrall (Con) the leader of the council, promised: "There will be no reduction in the key services we provide."

He said funding for some voluntary groups would continue, with a grant to the St James Centre in East Malling and more money for the Citizen’s Advice Bureau. He said: "We shall continue to be a ‘do-something’ council."

The opposition leader Cllr David Thornewell (Lib Dem) acknowledged the unfairness of the existing government support, but said he believed it was the system that was wrong..

He said that when the Tories were in power, Labour boroughs always complained that they were unfairly discriminated against, adding: "We always suffer from pendulum politics."

But he acknowledged that the budget proposals were the "best we can do at this time."

The budget and council tax were passed unanimously.

#&149 To the Tonbridge and Malling council tax charge of £167 per band D house must be added the separate charge of £134.65 for Kent Police; £66.06 for Kent Fire and Rescue, and £1,026,27 for Kent County Council, meaning the combined bill for householders will be £1,393.98.

But in addition to that, most households will also make extra payments for their town or parish precepts, which range from nothing in Tonbridge town centre to £111.23 in Ditton.

Ditton residents therefore end up with the largest Council Tax bill of £1,505.21 for the average band D house.