HOUSEHOLDS in Swindon and Wiltshire will have to find an extra £3 a year to fund the cost of policing the region it has been announced, but the force will still be more than £2m short despite the increase.

Following a public consultation, Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon Angus Macpherson has today set the police and crime element of council tax for the coming financial year.

It will go up by £3.12 per year for the average Band D property, which represents an increase of 1.9 per cent.

The increase, supported by the Police and Crime Panel at a meeting today at County Hall in Trowbridge, will help to protect community policing.

It means that the rate for the police and crime element of council tax for an average band D property will be £167.10 for 2016-17, up from £163.98 in 2015-16.

Mr Macpherson said: “I was pleased that we have had a positive response from the public throughout the consultation; at area board and locality meetings, through social media and the website.

“The consultation clearly showed that the public are in favour of the increase which will be used to help maintain local community policing.

“Wiltshire receives one of the lowest amounts of central government funding in the country. This increase in the police and crime part of local council tax will provide an additional £769,000 of local income, which will help to cover rising costs, and reduce the funding gap to £2.6m for policing in Wiltshire. It will help me to maintain the number of officers working alongside Swindon Borough Council and Wiltshire Council in our communities for the benefit for the people of Wiltshire and Swindon.

“I will still have a funding gap of roughly £2.6m in the year 2016 - 2017.

“I am pleased to be supporting local policing. This year I will close the funding gap by using mainly reserves and commissioning funds. This leaves the Chief Constable to find efficiencies of £0.674m from his allocation of £103m.

“I will continue to fight for fair funding for Wiltshire so that we get a reasonable share of the national funding pot.

“I am pleased today that the Police and Crime Panel have recognised the result of the consultation, the strength of the case, and have endorsed the precept.”