SWANLEY residents will have to cough-up an extra £106 a year in council tax but no new services will be provided for the next financial year.

District councillors voted to increase Sevenoaks District Council's share of the council tax from £99 to £122, last week.

The extra cash will improve existing services and will to prevent cuts to services or using council savings, according to councillors.

Swanley council tax is set by the Police Authority, Kent County, Sevenoaks and Swanley Councils. Now that all four have increased the amount, Swanley residents can expect to pay £1022 in council tax in the next financial year, an increase from £916.

District Councillor Clive Bruce blamed a shortfall in Government funding, which meant a rise in Sevenoaks Council's share in council tax was inevitable but added it was less than an extra 50p a week for an average household.

He said: "Without this increase, we would have no choice but to cut services or eat further into our savings which would have a terrible effect on future budgets and services."