The Labour group leader at Warwick Town Council has defended the decision to put up the council's council tax precept for the coming year.

The rise of 8.5 per cent amounts to £3.81 per year, and was agreed by councillors at the Labour-led body last week.

Group leader Cllr Dave Skinner said the impact of inflation on council costs has been "significantly higher than expected".

"The national salary award has also added to staff costs, plus insurance and building maintenance costs are increasing much faster than general inflation," he explained in a statement.

"While we very much regret the above inflation increase, we need to focus on maintaining and improving local services. One of our priorities, which is restoring the position of town centre and events manager, will benefit both residents and the local economy. 

"We also need to make sure we have enough reserves to avoid the problems some other councils are facing.

"To give some idea of scale, this increase will mean people are still paying less than £1 per week for town council services. 

"I know that any increase puts more financial pressure on people, so this is not a decision we've taken lightly. However, we do think a small increase now is going to be good value for the local community, both in the short and longer term."

The town council promotes the town, organises events such as the Victorian evening, Warwick in Bloom and the Christmas lights and funds the Visitor Information Centre.

The council has budgeted to protect all existing services and add a part time town centre/events manager. 

The new manager will "help revitalise the town centre" and bring more events into Warwick for residents to enjoy and to attract more tourists into the town "which will grow the local economy".

The Labour administration also said it decided it was "essential" to boost reserves to "adequately cover the maintenance and preservation of historic buildings" they are responsible for, such as the courthouse.

The group also said it has updated the council's investment policy to "offset the burden on local taxpayers" by earning as much interest as possible.

Cllr Skinner added: "We'd like to thank the town clerk and finance officer for engaging constructively with us to implement these plans."