ABINGER PARISH PRECEPT CHARGE FOR 2022/2023

Before Council Tax demands arrive on doormats, Abinger Parish Council would like to explain why their part of the bill has increased for 2022/2023.

The Parish Council has strived to keep their Precept demand as low as possible and this has not been increased from £27,000pa for the last three years. After reviewing the expected expenditure for 2022/2023, the Council has requested a Precept of £37,000 for 2022/2023 which will result in a charge of £38.59 for a band D property.

This increase will fund the following: -

Tree surveys commissioned in March 2021, identified tree works that need completion within the next 12 months, including the removal of a large number of trees suffering from ash dieback. Whilst there are grants available for planting trees, there are no grants available for tree removal.

Playground inspections identified the multi-play item at Abinger Common as unsafe. Estimated repair costs are £5K or £10K to replace the item. There are grants available to contribute to the cost of new play equipment, so we have estimated a cost of £5K for the year.

Councillors review our finances on an ongoing basis, so we will be monitoring all costs and conducting further tree surveys to assess the need for any further tree works.