Council set to buy holiday parking

The council may buy a plot 50 miles away in a Sussex resort town

A town council plans to spend up to £185,000 on buying a car park 50 miles away in a different county - but not if it means an increase in council tax.

Members of Swanley Town Council in Kent, voted to try to buy an undeveloped site in Eastbourne, on the East Sussex coast.

The council already owns a hotel in Eastbourne - the Swanley Court Hotel - which it uses to provide subsidised holidays for people from Swanley.

The plot of land earmarked for car parking is only yards from the hotel.

Brian Daley, chief executive of Swanley Town Council, said the council would look at whether it could make money from buying the land and at whether the money would be better spent in Swanley.

The land has been valued at £185,000 but said it would look at whether it could buy the plot - at that price or less - without it affecting council tax bills.

People living in a Band D property in Swanley pay an annual £1,146 council tax bill, with £68 going to Swanley Town Council - a proportion 22% higher than in other town councils in the Sevenoaks District Council area.