At the Town Hall last night Newbury Town Councillors set the precept for the ratepayers of Newbury for the coming financial year.

Leader of the Council Gillian Durrant said “I am delighted that this year’s budget is less than inflation, and equates to an increase of less than 3p a week for a band D household. We have cut back on some budget lines to keep costs down, but we have also been able to incorporate some items which will be good for the town”

In addition to reinstating our grant budget to £10,000, we have agreed to give some much needed cash to three organisations which give so much to so many people in Newbury, The West Berkshire Volunteer Centre (£1,000), the Newbury Fringe Festival (£1,000) and the Newbury Carnival (£500), with the intention that this money will be given annually in future, to help these organisations budget for their core costs.”

There is also money to install new byelaw signage in the town’s parks, refurbish the Clock House to include more floral displays, and put a flagpole on the Town Hall (subject to planning permission) so the townspeople can fly the flag for Britain and England!

It has also been possible to restore some of the maintenance budgets that were put on hold last year when the Council faced some very high cost increases and had to keep the increase to the minimum. Despite a tight budget last year, the Council’s costs have been managed well, and it is hoped that there will be a small amount saved to put towards future improvements to the properties of the Council, such as the open spaces and town hall. The Council is also considering purchasing its own mobile CCTV camera so it can react more quickly to residents concerns of anti social behaviour around the town.

Deputy Leader Ian Grose agreed “it is good to be able to progress some of the projects that we didn’t have the money to do last year, whilst still delivering a budget that is affordable to the people of the town”.