hatherLEIGH Town Council is asking townsfolk to put their hands in their pockets and pay a bit more council tax for town facilities in the year ahead as it makes the ‘difficult decision’ to raise the precept by £10,000.

The town council has voted to raise the precept for April 2023-March 2024, which is the total amount it asks people living in the town to pay for all the services provided by the council, from £25,000 to £35,000.

Hatherleigh town mayor Cllr Clare Tyson, who chairs the town council, explained that the cost of living crisis had been the driver in the decision, with the cost of maintaining the facilities and services having risen.

Cllr Tyson explained that the councillors had preferred to put the precept up rather than cut what they provided to the town, which includes running the Island Park play area, keeping town flower beds trim and emptying litter bins, as well as the Christmas lights.

‘Hatherleigh Town Council has had to make the difficult decision to raise the precept this year after three years of keeping it the same level of £25,000. We are fully aware this won’t be a popular decision in the current financial climate but your town council is in the same position of facing rising costs for the services it provides.

‘We receive no other financial support and to ensure we can continue to support local facilities, local projects and pay for essential services we are asking for a small annual rise per household to cover bringing our precept level up to £35,000.

‘For a Band D property this will be a household rise from £41.11 to £53.11, an annual rise of £12.’

The town council uses its funds to run and maintain the public toilets, the Island Park and toddler park, bus shelters, street care, emptying litter bins, keeping flower beds tidy and grass cutting. It also covers looking after Millennium Corner, the area at the bottom of the high street where the town noticeboard is.

The town clerk’s salary is also being covered, along with insurance and the website, along with the Christmas lights.

There are other important facilities within the town which the town council also helps to maintain, as the mayor went on to explain.

‘Our main financial support last year was to help the Visitor Centre which we intend to continue this year, this being an important hub for the town.

‘ Also we hope to continue offering small contributions to help groups benefitting residents as we’ve done in the past eg community transport and local events.

‘For the last three years we have been subsidising the Tuesday Market parking. When this began the town council believed this cost would only last 12-18 months. The decision has been made to cease this support to save this cost.

‘Hatherleigh is comparably low in its precept level per household compared with other towns/villages and we are serving a growing population.

‘Hatherleigh town councillors – a voluntary role – wish to continue providing the level of service we’ve been used to for the town rather than cutting back. We hope people will understand the position we are in.’