A record £300 million will be invested in the county’s schools, roads, homes and economy over the coming year, according to Essex County Council.

The authority has committed to spending millions of pounds on projects throughout the county, including investing a total of £9.4 million for improvements to the A131 between Braintree and Sudbury.

Amongst the other projects is the newly announced Witham Innovation Centre, which will receive £1.8 million between 2019 and 2021.

Leader of Essex County Council David Finch said the budget was a “positive, practical and prioritised” set of plans.

“It takes a balanced and realistic budget view but at the same time, proposes record investment in key services and infrastructure,” he said.

“We have growing demand for essential services and meeting that demand with dwindling resources is a huge challenge. But we can face this challenge with confidence and strength – our track record for efficiency and innovation is second to none.”

Over the next two years, the council is set to give £3.7 million to Colchester Institute so it can upgrade the existing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) centre at its Braintree Campus in a move it is hoped will help combat the skills shortage in these areas.

The new technical college at Stansted Airport, on which work began late last year, will receive £5 million in funding from the council budget.

Around £50 million is set to be spent in each of the next three years on road maintenance, along with £8 million on pathway repairs for pedestrians.

In the coming year, a total of £105.2 million will be spent on schools across the county, with 2,750 new places set to be created as Essex grows rapidly.

Country parks, such as Great Notley Country Park, are set to receive a share of £450,000 of funding.

The council says it has already made £350 million worth of savings over the last four years, but a reduction in Government funding means residents will pay more in tax next year.

Mr Finch said: “Like households and businesses, councils are not immune to inflation and increasing costs.

“This year, we are asking for a little over £1 a week more from the average household to enable us to protect and invest in essential services which our communities rely on – care, roads, transport, education and environment.”

The average household will pay nearly £60 a year extra to help pay for the capital spending plans.