CIVIC chiefs in Hampshire are to turn down inflation-busting pay increases.

They say it would not be fair to take the extra money when council tax payers are set to see big rises in their council tax bills this year.

An independent remuneration panel, made up of three professionals with an industrial and commercial background, proposed the hefty increases of between 2.7 per cent and 46 per cent.

But county council leader Ken Thornber said he will vote against the rises, which would see his own yearly allowance leap by 6.38 per cent from £27,239 to £28,977.

He wants to see any increases linked to the current 2.4 per cent inflation rate. Opposition parties have backed his stance.

"I do not believe that councillors should be seen to be accepting increases much beyond the consumer price index when council tax increases are above inflation," said Cllr Thornber.

Council tax payers in Hampshire are facing increases of 4.7 per cent in their bills this year.

If the rise is agreed in February, the cost of an average Band D council tax bill will rise from £869.40 to £910.26 - an increase of £40.86.

The rise would not include the costs of police, fire and district and parish councils.

Civic leaders argue that Hampshire could lose about £38m of government cash over the next two years as money is moved from the south to the north.

Councillor Philip Heath, chairman of the regulatory committee responsible for transport and planning issues, has been offered the biggest rise, with his pay set to leap from £7,933 to £11,591.

He requested the increase to bring his allowance into line with councillors holding similar roles as chairmen of policy and review committees - an anomaly that Councillor Thornber and other senior councillors want to investigate.