57p - The price of saving CTEP (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

57p - The price of saving CTEP

PULLING out of the Cirencester Traffic and Environment Plan will save the average council tax payer in the district just 57 pence.

And for the £1 million saved on the new Cirencester leisure centre, they will just about be able to buy quarter of a pint of beer.

The Conservatives took control of Cotswold District Council in May on the back of promises to keep council tax as low as possible.

Since then, they have launched a major review of capital projects in a bid to identify savings.

The authority stands to save £435,000 from CTEP phase two, although a final decision on whether to pull out of the scheme has not yet been made.

But, closer examination reveals that just £17,000 of that can actually be set against council tax - equating to 57p per annum per Band D household.

And slightly more than doubling that amount to cover the £1 million savings from the leisure centre, comes to less than the price of a swift half down the local.

The council's Liberal Democrat Group leader Deryck Nash, who is also chairman of CTEP, requested the figures from the council.

In a letter to the Standard he said: "No doubt there are people who are against CTEP on principle, just as there are those who support it.

"But, before they rush out to spend all the council tax that they save by voting to stop CTEP, they really should know just how much extra money they will have in their pockets."

Although £435,000 would be saved from CTEP, the money would have to stay in the authority's capital pot, which is used to fund major projects.

Only interest from that sum can be used to offset the authority's revenue fund, which is used to pay for "every day" services such as waste disposal, that ultimately reflect on council tax.

Council deputy leader Robert Smith said: "No decision on CTEP has yet been made. "We will be meeting with the county council early next month and we're keeping our options open."