Precept freeze for town council
Newbury residents will not see rise in precept charge this year, but less money will be available for services
WITH rising inflation and fears of a double-dip recession lingering, Newbury residents will at least be able to welcome the news that a freeze on household precepts has been approved by town councillors.
Newbury town council will be taking £916,867 from rate payers in the town for the next financial year, from April 2011-12.
The rate freeze means that average, Band D households will be paying a precept of £71.97 for the year.
Both parties on the town council, the Conservatives and the leading Liberal Democrats, agreed on the rate freeze and the decision was passed unanimously at a full council meeting last night (Monday).
However, given the freeze and taking inflation into account, the council will, in real terms, have less money to spend this year on certain goods and services.
The leader of the council, councillor Ifor Sheldon (Lib Dem, Victoria) said: “I believe it (the budget freeze) is in the interest of the people of Newbury.
“The last thing our constituents needed at this time was a further financial burden from this council.”
Newbury town councillor Jeff Beck (Con, Clay Hill) said: “We are happy to endorse this budget which is a zero percent increase that will benefit the people of Newbury.”
In the budget, new money, to the tune of £3,500, was found to pay for Big Society Projects and the council's budget for training and development of councillors was increased by £2,000 to £7,500 to cope with the possible influx of new councillors in this election year.
The money to pay for these and other changes was found by re-allocating more than £7,000 which was last year used to pay for changes to the clock house.
Initial plans by the town council to increase its cemetery charges by four per cent, market charges by 2.5 per cent and football pitch fees by 3.85 per cent were scrapped by mutual agreement between the two parties at an earlier meeting.
Allotment fees and charges, which have risen over the past year, were also held constant in the budget.
