Very shortly all residents will be receiving their Council Tax bill setting out how much they will have to pay. Council Tax raises money for the County Council, City Council, the Police and the Fire service and also for the Parish Council. Little Waltham Parish Council is keen to let you know about the amount of Council Tax that is paid to the Parish Council (the Precept) and hopes that you will consider that it is value for money.
As residents you may be aware that Chelmsford City Council recently carried out a Community Governance Review and the outcome is that the size of the Parish of Little Waltham is to be reduced. This is because the houses in the Channels section of the Parish will be moved into the new Chelmsford Garden Community Council together with some of the more established houses up to the middle of Wheeler’s Hill.
This will mean that there will be fewer residents available to pay the Precept so even if the lump sum to be raised was kept the same as last year the remaining residents would have to pay more as there are fewer residents now in the Little Waltham Parish due to these changes.
The Parish Council has carried out a very careful review of what money is required to enable the Parish Council to continue to function, provide services to you and represent your interests and has managed to agree a reduction in the lump sum to be raised.
The lump sum to be raised by way of precept will therefore reduce from £49,526.00 to £41,877.00 which is a 15% reduction.
However due to the reduced number of residents, this will still see an increase in the Precept. Therefore, regrettably, the precept for a Band D property will increase by £22.40 a year from £55.81 to £78.21 which equates to an additional £1.86 a month.
The Parish Council would like to let you know what you will receive for that money and in its strategy statement for the year the Parish Council has committed to providing the following –
- To maintain Taylor’s Park including all grass cutting and tree maintenance so that it continues to be a central focal point in the village to be enjoyed by all residents
- To maintain the children’s play area, the tennis courts, the table tennis table and the goalposts in the park.
- To upgrade the Pavilion to provide a community hub for the village
- To provide allotments at the two sites in the Parish
- To maintain a clean and tidy environment in the Parish by arranging for gardening to be undertaken, for flower tubs to be maintained, for litter picking to be carried out and for litter bins to be emptied
- To maintain other assets in the village such as the defibrillator, benches, noticeboards, the village sign, the war memorial and bus shelters
- To address the clear concerns of Parishioners in relation to traffic in the Parish including participation in the Community Speed watch scheme and lobbying Essex County Council by way of engaging a traffic consultant and contributing to the cost of a traffic survey.
- To provide support to local community groups by way of the small grant scheme
- To make sure that the Parish Council is aware of the concerns and views of residents by communicating effectively with them by way of the website, Facebook page and the Parish magazine
- Responding to planning applications in the Parish and representing the concerns and views of residents within that process
- Making representation to third parties on issues that effect the Parish such as liaison with the Police
In addition, the Parish Council is considering the hosting of a Christmas event in December 2023 and hosting a Warm Spaces Coffee Morning.
Councillors will continue to work hard to represent your interests and hope that residents will understand that due to the impact of the Community Governance review, there has had to be an increase in the Precept but that Councillors worked hard to make sure that the increase is both moderate and value for money for residents