St Albans council will not be able to keep all of the business rates it gathers.

Herts district councils missed out on a place on a government pilot scheme to retain 100 per cent of rates from local businesses.

St Albans council leader Alec Campbell said: “It was worth up to £200,000, so we are disappointed.

“We were hopeful as we put in a good proposal from across Hertfordshire.”

The council does not know why it was not chosen.

Councils in Berkshire, Derbyshire, Devon, Gloucestershire, Kent and Medway, Leeds, Lincolnshire, Solent, Suffolk, and Surrey were picked, and will forego certain grants they received from government.

The government wants local authorities to retain 75 per cent of rates from 2020 to 2021.

Community and Local Government ministers have also raised the threshold for council tax increases above which councils must hold a referendum.