PEOPLE living in parts of Trowbridge whose council tax went up in 2017 will see the extra money spent on services such as play parks.

Following the change of the Trowbridge boundary two years ago to include Paxcroft Mead, Old Farm and Shore Place, residents were told that they needed to pay the same as the rest of the town for services transferred from Wiltshire Council.

At a policy and resources meeting on Tuesday evening councillors committed to spending the extra money accumulated on play area maintenance and repairs, bus shelters, street furniture, footway improvements and street sweeping in those specific areas, meaning people living there will benefit directly from it.

For people living in Paxcroft Mead, the charge increased by £130.36, for Old Farm £123.63 and Shore Place £83.70 for average band D households.

They all now pay the standard charge for Trowbridge town residents.

The total extra money received as a result of the increase in 2017 totals £153,014 from Paxcroft Mead, £48,188 from Old Farm and £10,044 from Shore Place.

Chairman of the policy and resources committee Cllr Peter Fuller said: “This is an issue which we felt needed to be confirmed as it has been more word of mouth than anything else.

“I do feel that these areas should pay the same as the rest of us and be treated the same as the rest of the town since the boundary was changed two years ago.”

It was also agreed by councillors that if not all of the money is spent by March 31, 2021, it will be an earmarked for spending on future projects within these areas.