Bersted homes to pay less to parish council

Parish council members unanimously agreed at their December meeting to cut the precept from next April by about five per cent to £101,454.

The reduction equals some £1 a year for a band D property.

Fiona Dobbs, the council’s clerk, said the council’s spending was set to go down next year because a large amount of work on its community hall had been completed.

“We don’t want to have more money coming in than we need for our budget,” she said. “This is not a pared down budget, it’s a sensible budget because we have got some surplus if we need it.”

The council had £171,000 in reserves, she said. She was thanked for her financial work.