CROSS-party disagreements have broken out after claims Cotswold District Council 'lost out' on an opportunity to secure an additional £248,000 by voting to reduce council tax by five per cent.

At the council's recent budget meeting, Conservatives rejected a call from the Liberal Democrats to freeze the current rate stating the reduction left residents with more money to spend locally.

But Liberal Democrat councillors slammed the decision saying it was a wasted opportunity to use the money the council would have secured by leaving the rate as it was, on services that would help the Cotswolds.

Councillor Joe Harris, leader of the Lib Dem group said: “We are living in uncertain financial times, the money local councils receive from the government is reducing and we have to make the money we have stretch further.

“Our proposal to freeze council tax would have meant that services are protected without hitting local residents in the pocket. Conservative plans to cut the council tax will mean we go into an uncertain future with less cash at our disposal to protect from financial risk.”

The Lib Dem group had also proposed to invest £40,000 on tackling litter along the Cotswold's main roads and invest £40,000 to support initiatives to tackle isolation and hardship amongst younger and older people.

Councillor Paul Hodgkinson who proposed the amendment on tackling litter said: “The Council’s litter collections are so infrequent many people are taking the matter into their own hands and doing litter picks themselves. This cash would have supported local residents' efforts by providing the council with more resource to undertake more frequent litter picks.”

He added: “I know many people take huge pride in the Cotswolds and want to see it kept clean and tidy. I’m disappointed the Conservatives won’t take litter seriously and ultimately it’s our beautiful area that loses out.”

Cotswold District council confirmed it would have received an additional £248,000 if the council tax had not been reduced.

Speaking at the budget-setting meeting, council leaderCouncillor Lynden Stowe made an assurance that all of the council’s frontline services would be retained while freezing charges for car parking, leisure centre and Corinium Museum admission fees, and green waste collection charges for yet another year. Building control fees are being cut by 10 per cent.

He said: “It’s remarkable that we have been able to reduce council tax for three years in a row. Most of the savings we have achieved stem from the joint working we have undertaken with other councils.

“I have always maintained that it is not our job to take more money than we need to deliver our services to residents, and I am very pleased that we have been able to leave as much as possible in the taxpayer’s pocket. In fact, the real-terms reduction of 30 per cent over five years means that some £4.8m has remained in the local economy to stimulate prosperity. Residents across the Cotswolds can be assured that we are obtaining the best value for money possible, thanks to our cost saving measures."

Councillor Stowe added: "We have developed a very close relationship with West Oxfordshire District Council over the last few years and now share around 80 posts, ranging from senior management to officer level. We have also established strong ties with Cheltenham and Forest of Dean Councils, sharing resources to carry out back-office jobs such as finance, HR and procurement.. The future looks bright as we embark on more work with these partners through the emerging 2020 Vision programme. This will enable us to pursue more work-sharing and cost-cutting initiatives without compromising the independence or local decision-making of the participants and should save us all a total of over £50 million over ten years.