Bradford Council Tax payers will be asked to fork out more than £2 million this year towards improvements to flood defences in Yorkshire.

Members of the Environment Agency flood defence committee have voted for a ten per cent increase in the levy on local authorities in the region for the third year running.

It means Council Tax payers in Bradford will face a bill of £2,006,106 towards a total cost of £36.6 million for flood defence improvements.

Bradford will contribute the fourth highest amount of any local authority towards the total cost even though there is just one major scheme taking place in the district.

The hike in the tax levy follows a review of the long-term need for flood defences in the wake of the devastating floods of 2000.

Following that review, the original estimate for the capital expenditure needed in Yorkshire by 2010 more than doubled.

The Environment Agency budget will cover the £1.3 million needed for improved flood defences in Stockbridge, Keighley, which are expected to be completed this year.

Improvements are also planned for the stretch of the River Wharfe at Castley Lane, Arthington, which lies in the North Yorkshire County Council area.

Today Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, Bradford Council's executive member for the environment, said flooding had affected several parts of the district, including Stockbridge and the Wharfe Valley.

"No councillor likes the thought of increases in taxation at this level and we recognise that the ten per cent is four times the current rate of inflation," she said.

"However, everybody realises that the whole issue of flooding is very serious and is not going to go away."

She added: "I take a lot of persuading that with something like flooding, which is becoming a civil defence issue, the funding should come from local taxation. It should be central Government which meets the cost."

Councillor Arthur Barker, chairman of the Yorkshire and Humber Association of Local Authorities, said the increased investment from councils reflected the importance given to flood protection within the region.

"In view of the tough choices facing councils on funding services such as education and social services, the increase in flood defence investment shows just how committed local authorities and the Environment Agency are to protecting the region as a place to live, work and invest in,'' he said.

Leeds City Council Tax payers will pay the highest levy at £3.3 million, and North Yorkshire County Council Tax payers will fork out £3 million.

In addition to the council contributions, the rest of the cost of the flood defence programme will be met mainly by grants from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.