PEOPLE living in Brighton's exclusive Royal Crescent will pay the highest council tax in Sussex.

Residents will pay £825.43 from April if they live in a Band D property. That is £173.42 higher than anyone living in a similarly banded home in the rest of Brighton and Hove, which has the lowest figure in Sussex. People in the top band H in Royal Crescent would have to pay a whopping £1,551.08. The 32 householders in the Grade II listed seafront crescent pay extra because, by a quirk of history, the council is responsible for its ornamental garden. It is managed by the Royal Crescent Enclosure Committee, made up of residents and councillors. But angry mother Michele Cheetham has hit out at having to pay the highest council tax in Sussex for a garden she and the rest of the residents cannot use. The 35-year-old, who has two daughters, Kate, aged four, and three-month-old Alice, called the garden a very expensive view. She said: "We have to pay about £300 a year extra for its upkeep, but we cannot use it. "I have got children and so have a few other neighbours in the crescent and it would be nice for them to play in. "We moved from London 18 months ago and in places where similar things exist, residents pay for a key which gives them access to the garden. We are not given that option. "It would be nice to sit out there with our children. It is not as though we are yobs." But committee chairman Thomas Murton told the Argus the extra payment was money well spent and explained the gardens were locked to prevent them being damaged. Mr Murton said the committee's share has hardly increased in recent years, but now they want to replace the decaying railings. He said: "It's going to be extremely expensive, but we hope to get some lottery funding, and in the meantime we need to build up our funds." They hope to replace the railings in time for the crescent's bicentenary in 2007. The Royal Crescent is one of the most exclusive addresses in the town. As well as Lord Olivier, who lived in Nos 4 and 5, other famous neighbours included actor Sir John Clements, who was once director of the Chichester Festival. Brighton's Marine Square and Hanover Crescent also levy a special rate for the maintenance of their gardens. The other highest council tax bills in Sussex will be paid by people living in Uckfield, where anyone with a Band D property will have to find £792.69 from April, and in Telscombe, where it will be £771.54. To find out exactly what you will pay, see the four-page special pull-out in The Argus today.

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