PEOPLE across the district will have contributed towards more than £500,000 of spending on council newspapers this financial year.

Essex County Council budgeted for £488,072 towards producing its Essex Works magazine for 2009/10 while Epping Forest District Council budgeted £65,000 for five editions of the Forester including a credit crunch special.

The Forester is written by the district council's PR team and a freelance reporter hired for £900 an issue while Essex Works has two staff with a combined salary of £55,000 a year.

People we spoke to on Epping High Street had mixed views on the council's expenditure on freesheets. Sandra Clayton, 59, Emerson Way, North Weald, said: “I think I get them I can't remember off hand. It's a lot of money just to put a freebie through the door.”

Lorna Denton, 43, of Bodley Close, Epping, disagreed adding: “It sounds a lot but it makes sense when you think of all the printing costs.”

Hannah Whitbread, 22, of Beaconfield Road, Epping, said: “I do read them. It's useful for recycling information and what's on. They could possibly make it better for that amount of money.”

Keith Miller , 78, of High Street, Epping, said: “We do read them. I didn't know they cost that much but as a means of keeping people in touch it's quite a good thing.”

Sandra Rive, 58, of Charles Street, Epping, said: “I like reading them to see what's going on. I don't know about the expense. There's too much council tax. Every year it goes up.”

Patrick Ward, 69, of Meadow Way, Chigwell, said: “It's just something that comes through your door unfortunately, but I can see why they do it.”

A spokesman for the district council said: “Forester has an important role in keeping residents informed about the services available - it is important that residents know what the council is doing and from a local democracy perspective ensures the Council is accountable.”

The Forester is available on the council's website at eppingforestdc.gov.uk.

A spokesman for the county council said : “Essex County Council is delivering the largest savings programme, some £300 million over the next three years, of any council in the UK in order to can council tax as low as possible.

"Increases for the last three years have been below inflation and this will continue for the next three and is why EssexWorks costs approximately 90p per household per year. This is what matters to local residents - value for money - and is what ECC is delivering."