SPORTY people face a 'double whammy' a leading Test Valley councillor claimed when it was proposed that some charges levied by the borough council rise by many times the level of inflation. Liberal Democrat former leader of the council, Mark Cooper, made the claim as the council's executive debated the hike in charges - which will come in at the same time as the county council's higher council tax charges start to bite in April. Football training at the Walworth Sports Ground will rise by 8.3 per cent, group athletics training at Charlton Sports goes up by 10 per cent while table tennis at Valley Park is up by 25 per cent. Other fees, such as some public entertainment licen-ces increase by 20 per cent while water sampling carried out by the environment and health service goes up by 33 per cent from £15 to £20. Cllr Cooper said: "With the county council asking for between five and nine per cent extra and these charges well above the rate of inflation what we have here is a double whammy. "I know certain charges are out of kilter but it is unfair to increase them all in one year. "It will give negative publicity and reduce the usage. "The way to be successful is to grow the market and increase the charges gradually over five years." But finance officer Jim Watson said that some of the council's charges lagged behind other districts and the District Auditor had advised the council that it should make more of its charges. "It is a question of striking a balance between those who pay these charges and those who pay the council tax," he said. His view was supported by Conservative councillor Norman Arnell who pointed out that many, especially elderly people, were unable to use the leisure services and were in effect subsidising users if the charges were too low.