THE police precept in Cheshire is set to rise after 77 per cent of respondents to the consultation backed an increase to help cover a multi-million pound shortfall in funding.

The increase in the council tax for policing means there will be a rise of 7.3 per cent for a Band D equivalent property for 2018 to 2019 from £164.44 to £176.44 – £1 extra per month.

Police and crime commissioner David Keane said: "I am delighted that so many people have spoken – in unprecedented levels – and I have listened to their views when setting the budget.

"It is imperative that any decision on force funding to be truly reflective of feelings of residents and businesses in Cheshire."

The news was announced as Mr Keane set out the latest policing budget for the force and outlined his plans for the constabulary which includes placing a named officer or PCSO in every community. The commissioner has also committed to providing more support to victims of crime to help them cope and recover from their ordeal.

Additional funding has been allocated to the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) to help the service deal with increasing demand.

The budget also earmarks funding for an Anti-Stalking Clinic, run in partnership with 5 Boroughs NHS Foundation Trust. Mr Keane added: “This is a budget that will enable the acting chief constable to keep the residents of Cheshire safe and achieve the priorities of my police and crime plan.

“Policing within our communities is becoming increasingly diverse and complex, which requires a more sophisticated response from officers.

“I have allocated funding to deal with these issues by re-directing officers to these priority areas.

"I have also committed to investing in intelligence gathering, training and crime recording to enable the constabulary to respond to these important and emerging issues.”

Cheshire Constabulary has faced a 37 per cent real-term cut in funding since 2010.

The commissioner added: “We’ve done a huge amount to find ways to deal with the financial challenges we face and I include myself in that as my office costs are now the second lowest in the country.

"We have plans to make further savings to the spend on my office to ensure more of our limited resources can be invested into frontline policing.”