The Parish Council has a few new capital projects in the pipeline for 2025/26, in addition to the normal everyday tasks of managing the allotments, two playparks, the cemetery, the Town Hall, The Churchyard and the Village’s many green spaces.
There is also the Somerset Council factor, with the principal authority continuing to make cuts, both to services and to staffing numbers, so there is more cost and work being pushed down onto the Town & Parish Councils of Somerset. Sadly, the services that Somerset Council offer will continue to be reduced over the coming year, dictated by the fact that Somerset Council is almost insolvent and so there is no choice.
When setting its budget for this coming year, the Parish Council and its Committees started discussions back in the Autumn (2024). Councillors looked very carefully at the cost of providing all the services that the Parish Council does, what savings could be made, but also being realistic about rising costs. It will not come as a surprise that, even by keeping things close to the bone, the Parish Council is having to increase its share of the Council Tax from this April. The increase will be £29.71 per year, for a band D household – this £2.48 per month – which will mean a Band D household will pay £168.58 per year for services provided by the Parish Council.
How do we compare?
| Bruton | £184.92 (24/25) |
| Langport | £359.54 (25/26) |
| Wincanton | £200.92 (25/26) |
| Sherborne | £228.59 (24/25) |
| Henstridge | £115.40 (25/26) |
| Milborne Port | £168.58 (25/26) |
The Parish Council – Delivering More Services Than Ever
Last year I reported that there were three areas where the parish council is significantly extending its services, two of them by choice, the last by default:
1: Youth Services/Youth Club
The Parish Council has teamed up with Bruton, Wincanton and Castle Cary Town Councils to employ a youth worker to serve across the four council areas. This has resulted in the provision of a youth evening at the Village Hall each Thursday. The Parish Council would also like to see improved engagement with the Village youth to better understand their requirements and reduce anti-social behaviour. This project is a three-year commitment costing £10,000 per year (reported last year).
2: The Village Hall
The Parish Council became the sole trustee of the Village Hall back in the summer of 2024. A manager is now employed to run the hall and some Parish Council grant funding put into the building to assist with maintenance items. This has added a cost to the council of around £13,500 per year (reported last year).
3: The Demise of Somerset Council
The slow demise of Somerset Council is, for this year, is the main reason for the Parish Council costs increasing. For Dog & Litter bin emptying, the Parish Council will now be charged by Somerset Council to empty many of the bins in the Village.
Over the years, the Parish has also considerably benefited from the help of a Locality Officer; this was a lovely lady employed by South Somerset District Council who would help the Parish Council manage projects, such as the tennis courts refit, new play equipment installation and may of the smaller projects throughout the year. She was responsible for knowing how much money the principal authority had to spend on local infrastructure projects, mostly from developer contribution money, and she would assist the Parish Council in long-term planning to make sure the money was spent locally.
Somerset Council has made the Locality Officer redundant; this has been quite a loss to the Parish Council, so it has been agreed to try and replicate the role in some way by employing a Community Projects Officer locally part-time. This of course adds to the Parish Council’s costs, but the calculation is that the person would be attracting at least as much grant funding to the parish as they would cost. It is a model used in Bruton before, with a lot of success. This person would also potentially be available to help community organisations in the Village find grant funding, or to give advice on project management.
We are excited about this new post and hope that it will be of quite some benefit to the Parish. For now it’s just a temporary post and the Parish Council will keep its effectiveness under review.
Simon Pritchard, Parish Clerk
Parish Council Meetings in March
Full Council: Tuesday March 4th; Planning Committee: Tuesday March 18th; Management Committee: Tuesday March 25th.
Meetings take place in the Town Hall and start at 7pm. Members of the public are welcome to attend and can address the meeting with questions or comments from 7-7.15pm. If you would like to attend but would experience access difficulties, please let us know in advance and we will relocate to the Community Room downstairs.
Simon Pritchard – Parish Clerk clerk@milborneport-pc.gov.uk
Nathalie Hetherington – Deputy Clerk office@milborneport-pc.gov.uk
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Parish Council Website: www.milborneport-pc.gov.uk