Barrowby Parish Council Precept 2021/22

The Parish Council has set a precept for 2021/22 that is a substantial reduction on last year’s precept. As you will recall we set a precept last year that made provision for the repayment of a loan from the treasury or the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) to purchase the site of the Royal British Legion (RBL) Club.

Unfortunately, due to the intransigence of the RBL and their refusal to engage with the Parish Council in any way during 2020, we have not been in a position to draw down the loan from the PWLB. In December 2020 we were approached by the RBL by email to say that they expected to be in a position to negotiate with us early in 2021.

As the purchase of the site is still being pursued, £15,000 from the 2020/21 Budget has been set aside and carried forward to 2021/22 to repay the first year of any loan that may be required to purchase the site in the coming year.

Despite this and because we would only ever draw down the loan if the negotiations to purchase were successful, a decrease of £19.34 has been possible in the Band D equivalence of the Community charge. We still have to meet the increasing costs brought about through inflation and a desire to maintain the current high standards that we seek to achieve in the management of the resources within our Village.

The Parish Council polled the village 3 years ago to seek a mandate from parishioners to negotiate the purchase. We are aware that 3 years is a substantial time ago and so we will be seeking to renew the mandate by holding another opinion poll of village households. Since 2017 we have now faced the imminent building of another 1500 houses in Barrowby Parish. This means that should we invest in a new facility there will be a considerable number of additional households among which to share the cost of the loan repayments and a larger group of potential users to ensure the financial viability of the facility. Details of the consultation will follow in the next few weeks.

Should the purchase of the RBL site prove to be impossible the Parish Council will seek views as to the desirability of an alternative site within the village.

Meanwhile we wanted the village to know why there is a change to the Parish Council Precept this year and how it has come about.

Clerk to Barrowby Parish Council