Trowbridge Town Council is considering taking over the maintenance of bus shelters in the town, using money raised by increasing its share of the council tax.

A full council meeting confirmed the budget for 2015/16 and the council’s share of the tax on Tuesday night. It means an increase of 1.2 per cent in their share of the bill for a Band D property, from £137.92 to £139.64, in 2015/16.

Cllr Graham Payne said he was persuaded to support the increase knowing that building up a healthy reserve of cash would enable the town council to consider taking over bus shelters from Wiltshire Council.

He added that with the continued reductions in direct grant funding from the Government, the town council will possibly be hit with a number of “unforeseen problems” over the next year.

Cllr Payne said: “I feel strongly that I would like to see the town council take over bus shelter maintenance, so that they can be replaced when they become unsafe and worn out.

“I think we owe it to the public and those who use buses to make sure they are clean and maintained on a regular basis, which is not the case at the moment.”

The town council is also discussing the possibility of taking over the car parks and a number of recreation areas from Wiltshire Council.

Cllr Bob Brice, leader of the council, said: “There have been some significant pressures on costs this year, but we have been able to peg any increase to the lower CPI inflation rate, whilst continuing to invest in facilities and services for the whole town.

"We have been able to do this because our town is a growing town and the growing population is making a contribution as well as allowing commercial investment to come to the town.”