A HIKE in Council Tax has been agreed at today’s County Council meeting.

It means the Band D bill will rise by £55.17 to £1,439.46 – the equivalent of £1.06 a week extra.

Devon residents will have to fork out an extra £1.06 a week in council tax to help pay for more a budget which sees money spent on vulnerable children, adult social care and roads and drainage.

More than £43 million extra will be pumped into vital services with an additional £23.7 million for adult care and health, £11.5 million more for children’s services and £2 million more to help deal with drainage issues on the road network, in the budget Devon County Council agreed on Thursday.

In total the council’s spending will rise by £43.1 million from £498 million in 2019/20 to just over £541 million.

In 2020/21 the authority’s core funding will increase by 1.63 per cent, which councillors on Thursday were told was welcome change from the 11 per cent average annual reduction since austerity began in 2010.

The average Band D council tax bill for Devon’s services will rise by 3.99 per cent to help pay for it – that’s 1.90 per cent for general services and 2 per cent dedicated solely to adult care.

Teignbridge Council’s final budget meeting is scheduled for Monday.