RYEDALE councillors have opted not to increase the district's tax this year but have slammed the North Yorkshire Police Authority for its massive 76pc rise.

Coun Alan Farnaby, leader of the district council, told its policy and resources committee: "I believe we have been responsible in Ryedale. We have had a windfall from the Government and we have passed it on to the council tax payers.

"We can hold our heads up high and we should let the people know that we are not responsible for the tax increases they will have to pay."

Coun Farnaby said: "I cannot get over the increase. If the police did consult with the public, they did not get the message that such a rise was acceptable."

He added that he had questioned the chief constable, Della Canning, about the increase and she had said the money would be used to step up policing in areas of North Yorkshire where crime is high.

"That will be York and Scarborough, which will mean Ryedale is likely to get very little increase in police presence. I put that to the chief constable but I didn't get a reply."

Coun Farnaby said Ryedale District Council (RDC) was still awaiting a reply to its request for the chairwoman of the authority, County Coun Jane Kenyon, to meet the council to discuss the issues.

Coun Charles Scott said he was worried that many people in his rural part of Ryedale, particularly the elderly, would find the new tax demands "crippling" and warned that because of rising house values, fewer people would be in the average Band D which was used as the yardstick for setting council taxes.

Householders in the Band D rate in Ryedale will pay £1,118.33 compared with £966.64 this year. The RDC rate remains the same at £145.20, while NYCC goes up 11.5pc to £817.13, and the county police authority rate by 76.09pc from £88.59 to £156. In addition, parish precepts will be added to the tax bills.

The overall increase will be 15.69 pc - £2.92 a week - on a Band D property.

Coun Gary Hobbs said RDC "got the flack" because it was the authority which collected all the taxes for the police authority and the county council as well as its own and he warned: "Unless there is an improvement in policing. the authority won't get an increase for a third year next year."

Coun Pamela Anderson said Ryedale had not seen any improvement from last year's 41pc rise.

Many Ryedale parish councils had expressed concern about the police authority increase, said Coun Wilf Garbutt.

He said: "They cannot understand why a new police station is to be built at Malton and the police headquarters at Scarborough has been massively upgraded, yet there is not funding available to put more bobbies on the beat."

Updated: 08:58 Wednesday, February 26, 2003