Parish councillors in Cowling have voted to reduce the village precept by more than one-third.

The 2010/11 precept has been set at £30,000 – a reduction of 39.3 per cent on last year – and chairman Coun Alan Perrow said that worked out at £34.93 for an average household.

Coun Perrow said the parish had promised to reduce the precept after a large increase in the 2009/10 financial year.

Last year’s precept was increased by £14,000 to £50,000 because the council had budgeted for a £25,000 one-off payment to be used for a new village hall at the old Acre Mill site.