A COUNCIL budget is set to be formally approved tonight.

Hyndburn Council’s bid to freeze council tax, and a plan to slash spending by £1.2million will be put forward for full council approval this evening.

In its draft budget, the authority said it had managed to avoid an increase in council tax, and pledged no further increases for the next two years.

Council leader Miles Parkinson has said the savings made were the result of staff taking early retirement, voluntary redundancy, and reducing their hours.

The reduction of £1.2million is 10 per cent of the overall budget. No compulsory redundancies will take place, and less than 10 voluntary redundancies are expected to be made.

Hyndburn has seen government funding fall from £9million in 2010, to £6.8million last year, and £6.2million this year. It is expected to drop to £5.3million by 2015. The public meeting is at 7pm in the Council Chamber at Accrington Town Hall.