COUNCILS are expected to share a windfall  – after a better than expected year from the Dorset Waste Partnership.

The council-owned waste organisation is reporting that it is expected to have a £1.722 million underspend on its 2017-18 revenue budget of £33.1 million, money which is now likely to be shared between the partner councils.

Councillors are being asked to agree to distribute £1.372 million of that windfall at a meeting in Dorchester on Tuesday, (March 20). More than £383,000 will be put into a fund to pay for an expected pay rise for 2018-19.

The underspend has been caused by haulage and other costs being better than expected while recycling costs have also exceeded estimates.

The final figure will not be known until the end of the financial year in April.