Havering residents will see a slight fall in their Council Tax from April, after Havering Council voted to freeze the levy, for the second year running.

The Mayor of London said he was reducing his share which means rate band D property has decreased by �3.10 from �1,505 to �1,501.90

The announcement was made when the council set out its budget plans for 2012/13, at Full Council on Wednesday of last week (February 22).

Councillors agreed to invest �1.2 million into clean, safe streets, better pavements and encouraging business growth – which residents say are their top local priorities.

These measures will be paid for with one-off funds from the government’s New Homes Bonus grant over the next two years.

A further �2.5 million will be reserved to protect services in case of funding cuts by the government.

Councillors agreed to freeze the level of members’ allowances for 2012/13.

The council also pledged to protect key services, including weekly rubbish collections, libraries, parks, and child protection.

And Havering will continue to work more closely with other councils and public sector bodies to save cash, as it currently does in its technology and printing services.

The borough’s large voluntary sector will be called on to help provide care and support for elderly and vulnerable people.

Leader of Havering Council, Cllr Michael White, said: “We are committed to keeping the level of Council Tax in Havering as stable as possible.

“We have already managed to cut this by 0.5 per cent. Last year we were able to freeze this level, and I’m very happy to say that we can now have a further freeze on Council Tax for the year 2012/13, so as not to put further strain on household budgets.

“We know that times are tough and we are determined that, wherever we can, we should keep making savings by working more efficiently and cutting red tape rather than passing on the cost to taxpayers.”

For details, visit www.havering.gov.uk /Pages/Counciltax