Driffield Town Council precept to see £121,000 rise

Households in Driffield will see a rise in their council tax bills after Driffield Town Council increased its precept by almost 40 per cent for the financial year 2020/21.

The town council set its budget for the next financial year and has agreed a precept of £432,356, a rise of 39 per cent from the 2019/20 precept of £311,191.

This equates to an increase on a Band D household of 49p per week or £25.48 per annum.

The council states the increase is necessary to facilitate the provision and expansion of its services to cater for the substantial growth the town has seen in recent years.

Driffield Town Council, whose members were re-elected in May 2019, say they are responding to the many calls from residents that the growth in both houses and population can no longer be ignored.

Councillors insist that while many essential services are being cut, such as the Alfred Bean Minor Injuries Unit and the bus station, they believe they should rise to the challenge the expansion presents, and increase their capacity to provide the services the public demand and expect that are within their remit.

Driffield Mayor, Cllr Amanda Croft, commented: “We are a largely new council and we have both young people and members of the older generation in our ranks.

“Their experience and skills emanate from a myriad of backgrounds, from running their own or working for local businesses, working within the public sector and those who are retired.

“They have listened to the concerns of their residents about the growth of this town and seeming lack of urgency for services to match that growth and so we are responding to this.”

Town clerk Claire Binnington said: “This council are a very forward thinking bunch.

“They want to make a real difference to the town and the lives of its residents and next year will certainly see some big changes and great strides forward in the services we provide.”

The funding required to provide the services and facilities delivered by Driffield Town Council, called the “precept”, is included in the council tax paid to East Riding of Yorkshire Council by the ratepayers of Driffield and Little Driffield.

The increase in the amount of precept will be used to increase the workforce employed by the council.

Chair of the Personnel Committee, Cllr Mark Blakeston, said: “We will be able to employ an additional Tidy Team operative, something we promised with the erection of our new purpose-built depot.

“This will transform the efficiency and level of service provision.

“In addition, we hope to welcome a part-time External Grants Officer, whose sole aim will be accessing the many potential external funding streams available to help deliver a number of projects which would otherwise not be financially possible and bring essential outside investment to Driffield that we have been missing out on to date.”

The Town Council will be embarking on a public consultation in February and March to ask the people of Driffield what their priorities are so that services and projects can be moved forward accordingly.

Cllr Croft added: “The people have spoken, and we have listened.

“We are doing everything within our powers and duties to enable us to rise to the challenge of a Driffield that is growing at a considerable rate. These are exciting times!