Residents in west Oxfordshire could be receiving exactly the same bills from their district council in the coming year.

Preliminary estimates for the year 2002-3 are based on a council tax of £40 for the average Band D household -- the same as the current year.

However, the county council's part of the final council tax bill, by far the largest portion, is expected to rise by just under ten per cent.

Although West Oxfordshire District Council does not plan to increase its demands, there is still a major spending programme in the pipeline, including more than £500,000 on a new sports centre at Chipping Norton School.

According to finance director Vic Allison, the council is able to embark on ambitious spending because of a build-up of reserves and the large capital income brought in from the sale of all 3,500 council houses to a housing company.

He said: "We have a capital programme of £40m over the next five years, which is massive for a small-scale rural council like us. But four years ago we set out to do just this and we now have the cash behind us to do it."

About £300,000 is to be spent on improvements to leisure facilities. It has not yet been decided whether to go ahead with a Shopmobility scheme, costing £43,000, for disabled people in Witney.

The council's final budget will not be set until its March meeting but the outline has now been drawn up and was being presented to today's meeting of the cabinet.