Broadland residents will have to fork out more for their council tax as the council tries to balance the budget and make a £1million saving.

A report to Broadland District Council cabinet ahead of a meeting on Tuesday proposes raising its share of council tax by 3.5pc over the next financial year.

This would see a Band D property's council tax rising by £4.39, from £125.52 to £129.91.

This is in addition to a recommended £56 council tax increase for Norfolk County Council.

Broadland council’s assistant director of finance, Rodney Fincham, also set out a possible funding gap developing in 2022/23 of approximately £1m.

This gap is due to an anticipated reduction in the new homes bonus grants – a government scheme to incentivise house building.

Mr Fincham’s report said: “A number of key decisions made over the past year, have resulted in additional cost pressures and/or potential savings not being able to be delivered.

“The impact of this is that the funding gap has not reduced.

“This means that over the coming years the council could well be faced with some very difficult decisions in order to balance the long-term budgetary position.”

Looking ahead in their medium-term financial plan (MTFP), the report said further savings are expected to come from collaborating with South Norfolk Council but more will be needed.

The MTFP also includes future council tax increases of the maximum allowed - £5 a year between next year and 2025/26.

A consultation found support for this year’s budget, with 59pc of responders approving increasing council tax to protect services.

There was also 68pc support for targeting resources primarily to those most in need and 73pc support for targeting resources to encourage business growth.

However, only 22 people responded to the consultation, and the council acknowledged the findings may not be representative of the population.

The 2021/22 budget includes provision for £662,000 of additional expenditure to respond to Covid, funded from government grants, and a 1pc cost of living pay rise for council staff.

Mr Fincham's report said: "Covid is expected to have a long-lasting impact on our residents, businesses and our operations”.