A stark choice between a 15 per cent Council Tax increase and swingeing road service cuts has been laid before residents across the region.

Cumbria County Council is set to ask Council Tax payers to choose between15 per cent tax hikes or cuts to highway maintenance following news of a £5.5 million Government funding short-fall in next year's county roads budget. A mid-way option has also been offered as a third choice.

A 15 per cent rise would increase the county council's share of an average Band D property bill by £118.

If the full cuts are made, running repairs such as pothole patching, gritting, street lighting, verge and gully maintenance will be reined back unless Council Tax payers plug the spending gap.

Police and council bosses fear death tolls on the region's roads could rise if the highways budget is slashed and street lighting cuts could give criminals a helping hand.

Existing spending pressures at CCC mean double figure Council Tax rises are already on the cards. CCC leader Rex Toft said the full force of the cuts would be "devastating for Cumbria" and could mean "a serious risk of more danger on our roads".

Cumbria Constabulary spokesman Mike Head said there would be clear implications for policing the county if road budgets were slashed.

"There's no doubt that if highways maintenance is cut then there will be an impact on road safety and the same applies to street lighting. But we do appreciate the difficulty people face when they come to draw up budgets."

Council leaders claim substantial budget savings have already been made and further savings identified through a scheme dubbed Invest to Save and Improve - represent a "long term hope" for Council Tax payers.

But £25 million of further spending pressures mean CCC is already looking for at least ten per cent more Council Tax to cover services such as education, social services and increased National Insurance contributions.

CCC deputy leader Coun Mike Ash said: "No one likes recommending high Council Tax increases. But we really don't have any choice unless we dramatically cut our services."

Last week, CCC leaders met Government ministers to plead for more grant but as yet they have had no joy.

Labour group leaders have branded the county-wide tax consultation a Hobson's choice, claiming the public could not be expected to make "a sensible response" to it.

Coun Stewart Young said: "These are not the only choices in the budget. They should be asking the public if they want to spend £1.5 million on consultants to run the authority, while awarding 23 per cent pay increases to their senior managers."

Coun Toft said the consultation was not a referendum and the authority would be influenced rather than bound by the result.

The Conservative/Liberal Democrat leadership said changes to the complex formula used to calculate the level of Government grant provided for our roads meant Cumbria had lost out to more urban authorities.

Deputy chief executive Bob Mather said the equation used to weigh up length of roads and the amount they are used had tipped in favour of use - meaning less congested roads such as those in Cumbria had been awarded around 25 per cent less grant for maintenance than in previous years.

Council reports show Cumbria had also received one of the worst Government Settlements in the country, coming 25th out of 34 authorities.

But Coun Young said grants formula changes were not the cause of the proposed tax increase and accused the authority of failing to spend £6million of its highways capital programme last year.

"When they are given extra money they don't spend it and now they are asking for more," he said.

Coun Ash described Coun Young's remarks as "totally misleading" and said the authority had used the £6 million underspend this financial year.

l The annual Council Tax bill for an average Band D property in South Lakeland is currently £1,035. The county council's share amounts to £795. The remainder is paid to South Lakeland District Council and Cumbria Police Authority which have both warned of big Council Tax rises in 2003/4 and to parish councils.

January 17, 2003 10:00