Full News Report

8th January 2024

‘Rates’ bill for parish council purposes to rise by just 2p a week

MORVAL Parish Council is asking Cornwall Council for a precept of £22,182.96 to cover parish running costs and projects in the coming financial year.

The amount requested is an increase of £605.10 (or 1.32 per cent) on the parish council’s current budget for the financial year which ends in April.

And the extra cost works out at +99p a year (less than 2p a week) for those in the (average) Band D household property.

However, the final Council Tax demands for homes in the parish will be higher because they will also include increased Cornwall Council, Adult Social Care and Police charges.

The parish council’s spending plans include staffing, insurances, audit fees, website charges, the hire of the village hall for meetings and maintenance charges (including for the defibrillators).

Money will also be needed in preparation for delivering the Farriers Way play area. The council is still hopeful of attracting a grant to cover the majority of the project but will need to pay legal fees for the lease of the land and, if topsoil is required, it will likely have to pay a testing fee to make sure the earth is free of contaminates, including heavy metals like arsenic, and is suitable for use on a children’s play area. 

Unfortunately, soil testing does not come cheap; one estimate put the figure at £5,000 to test 200 tons of soil, but the council is still making further inquiries.

However, unless grant funding can be obtained, the council has decided not to pursue suggestions for a new noticeboard at the Morval end of the parish.