TEST Valley Borough Council will meet in Andover Guildhall this afternoon to confirm the details of their council tax demand due in April.

The new charge for a band D property in the borough will be a minimum of £1,134.27, made up of £99 for the borough council, £869.40 for Hampshire County Council, £113.76 for Hampshire Police Authority and £52.11 for the fire and rescue service.

Parish councils will add their precepts to the £1,134.27 and will vary from place to place but last year they averaged £21.

Since 2000 the annual charge for a band D property, excluding the parish levy, has risen from £776.07 to £1,134.67, which is an increase of 46.2 per cent, although police authority charges have increased by more than 100 per cent.

For the full story see Friday's Andover Advertiser.