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We know that Highways will pay for snow ploughing the Street (only) for 2011 and for
providing the grit for the grit bins around the village, but we are very concerned that
these services will not be provided next year. There were many complaints last winter
that whilst the Street was being cleared of snow, none of the side streets were being
cleared (snow ploughed) and so villagers still could not get out to work or school. If the
parish council has to pay for the Street to be cleared, we could have the side streets
cleared as well. We feel that the village would expect something to be done about
providing these various services.
At our November meeting we therefore went through all our current expenditure to see
whether there were things that could be reduced to help fund these services. At the
same time we did not want to reduce our donations to the various charities and
organisations that provide services to the village (some of which, such as Citizens Advice
Bureau, are needed more now than before). However, the few reductions that we have
found will not cover the anticipated costs. Whilst we would much prefer to stay at a
zero increase (or even a reduction as we did last year), we did agree that we had to
increase the precept. Because our precept is so low, the percentage increase will
appear to be high (higher than the rate of inflation) but it is in effect only a few pounds
(about £4) per property. We are sorry but we feel we have no choice but to impose this
increase and hope that under the circumstances you will support it.
It would also be helpful to know if there are other services which you feel we should be
providing locally (and therefore paying for locally, which may be cheaper). We have not
allowed funding for 50/50 road repairs and wonder if the village would like to increase
the precept more to enable these to be done rather than wait until they are really bad.
Please let us know what you think, ideally before we finalise the precept at our
December meeting – email the clerk on clerk@uley.eu.
5. Bonfires
We have had complaints from residents about bonfires being lit inconsiderately. If you
are planning on lighting a bonfire, can you first tell your neighbours, especially if they
have washing out on the line or their children are playing in the garden. Please be
considerate.
We hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas and we all hope for a prosperous
New Year!
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We know that Highways will pay for snow ploughing the Street (only) for 2011 and for