Huge council tax rise in Pinchbeck

Pinchbeck residents will see their council tax bills rise more than most after the village’s parish council elected to put its precept up by nearly 130 per cent.

The precept is the share of the council tax that goes to the authority.

Currently the owner of a band D property in the village would pay £27.54 a year towards the parish council.

In the next financial year starting in April they will pay £63.13 a year.

The council has said the funds will go towards new projects including cemetery provisions, repairs to St Mary’s Church and grass cutting.

Authorities such as Lincolnshire County Council and South Holland District Council can only propose a rise up to five per cent in their share of the tax without triggering a local referendum on the rise.

However this does not apply to parish councils.

A statement released by Pinchbeck Parish Council states: “We work hard to keep the annual precept at an appropriate level in order to maintain the assets we continue to enjoy in the village.

“Generally the precept covers the cost of maintenance, including grass cutting in the cemeteries, tree maintenance, looking after the Pinchbeck memorial grounds, churchyards and bus shelters among other things.

“But the precept must also be used to assist with developing longer term aspects of the village, and with additional funding we have been able to install facilities such as the children’s play equipment on the Glebe field.

“We are also at a stage now where we need to plan for other projects, such as grass verge cutting (previously paid for by Lincolnshire County Council), major repairs to the driveway at Leaveslake Drove and significant repairs to St Mary’s Church wall and gate. Pinchbeck Cemetery is also at a stage where we must extend or develop an alternative site.

“We have budgeted £5,000 for the St Mary’s repairs. The cemetery extension will be a very expensive three to five year project, so we have budgeted £20,000 in order to start this process.

“Recent weather has shown what can happen to large trees in the cemetery, so we plan to address this situation for the longer term, and tree maintenance in delicate locations such as the cemetery, is expensive. It is also prudent to have a contingency fund for when things go wrong.

“Without a precept increase it would be impossible to carry out any of this work.

“Pinchbeck Parish Council is reluctant to raise the precept, but we are requesting this increase for good reason.

“Although we plan to budget similar amounts for the cemetery extension for the next few years, other things will fall off the radar and the precept will fluctuate accordingly.

“We do not wish to erode the quality of services currently provided, but in addition there is much needed maintenance and development work, some of which must be completed sooner rather than later.”