POLITICAL posturing dominated St Albans District Council's budget setting meeting on Wednesday, which saw Conservative and Liberal Democrats cross party lines to reach a compromise about future spending plans.

These included £3,000 for Verulamium Museum, installing disabled toilets in the council offices, and a £30,000 package for the cycle route schemes in the city.

The Labour party, whose budget was described as "spend now and pay later" by the other two parties, refused to get into bed with either and instead offered its budget, with a council tax increase of 2.3 per cent as an alternative, but was roundly defeated.

It was left to the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats to pass a council tax increase of 5.8 per cent across the district, which equates to an additional £6.34 per year or 12p per week.

The average council tax for residents of St Albans living in a band D property has now been calculated as £864.84.

Chairman of the council's policy and resources committee councillor Chris Oxley welcomed the deal with some reservations.

He said: "I was happy that the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats could come to a sensible negotiation."

However, he said he was disappointed there was no money for grasscrete to protect grass verges from cars, no money for the pedestrianisation of St Albans Market Place and no consensus over cycleways in Verulamium Park.

Leader of the Conservative group Julian Daly supported the budget, but suggested that increased Government demands on the council had contributed to a budget increase almost three times the current rate of inflation.

Labour group leader Malcolm MacMillan stuck by their budget. He said: "Not in the last 20 years has there been a budget that provides such flexibility. This is why I can call it the Labour good news budget, without a cut in sight."