Come clean over Special Expense

The Special Expense is charged on top of the Rother District Council’s normal council tax and is said to cover the upkeep of amenities in the town such as public gardens and the bowls pitch .

But Rye councillors are angry that Rother is planning on cutting its grounds maintenance programme but has not mentioned reducing the Special Expense to reflect that,

Cllr Mike Eve said: “This is an unsatisfactory scenario.

“They are planning on taking something away from us which we may still end up paying for.”

“Rother needs to confirm what we are actually paying for,”

Cllr Mary Smith said: “It is very hard to get information and details from Rother Council about what Rye residents are actually paying for.

“For example, they cite charges for maintaining buildings on Rye’s allotment when there are no buildings.

“Rother must have the figures somewhere.

“The amount of money our tax payers are paying on top of council tax is astonishing.

There is also concern that areas of Rye could end up looking shabby if Rother cuts back on its grounds maintenance.

Deputy Mayor Cllr Bernardine Fiddimore said: “We don’t want to have areas of Rye which are no longer planted and end up looking derelict.

Cllr Mike Eve said: “I am concerned about the planters at the Town Hall which is an important venue for weddings.”