Tax hike for Wellington residents to fund parking enforcement and tackle anti-social behaviour

Community Action Team (CAT) officers will increase their working time from two to five days a week in Wellington during the next financial year.

Wellington Town Council agreed its precept for the financial year 2024/25 at a full council meeting on Tuesday night.

Councillors agreed a proposed increase for the next financial year which will see a Band D precept increase from £74.01 to £87.68 – just over 26p per week.

Councillors also identified the need for a precept increase for improvement in grounds maintenance, environmental, grounds and cleaning activity.

This will be alongside ‘continued support’ for local community initiatives, facilities and ‘continuing to provide for the significant cost increases being encountered by the council’.

As part of the proposals the council’s locality manager would move from part-time to full-time to ‘cover ongoing environmental projects’.

The position is shared with Telford & Wrekin Council who have contributed half of the increased cost.

The council says that ‘all wards across Wellington’ have received feedback from residents regarding parking outside schools and antisocial behaviour.

The precept increase will cover the cost of enforcement action through the CAT model to take place five days a week. Telford & Wrekin Council will contribute half of the cost.

The council heard that any funds generated go back into the CAT model ‘to benefit Wellington’.

Minutes of Tuesday’s Wellington Town Council (WTC) meeting state: “The policy and resource committee were mindful of cash reserves which had dwindled in recent years.

“Recommendation for cash reserves suggest six months of reserves but WTC aim to keep approximately two months due to the town council being perceived as a low risk need to call on reserves.

“This also means that there is little scope for use of one-off balances to supplement the precept this year as has been done on previous occasions.

“It is recognised that these are tough times for our residents and the public sector is also suffering from inflation, we are actively trying to keep expenditure to as low as possible and an example of this is that councillors allowances have not increased for that last four years.”

The town council’s precept includes a maintained budget for planting in the Bowring Park and additional planting in the Ercall ward.

WTC support will continue for community groups like the Wellington (Telford) Brass Band and facilities such as the Arleston community centre.

There was an increase in staff costs due to the 4.5 per cent national pay award. Core contracts costs are expected to increase for Christmas Lights, the Parade toilets and hanging baskets. The Parade toilets now cost the council net £15,000 per annum.

The total expenditure is forecast to increase by 8.63 per cent. The proposed CAT services and the full-time locality manager accounts for 5.18 per cent of that increase.

Councillors heard that the committee room is ‘on track’ to generate between £8,000 and £10,000 in room hire.