Halesworth Town Council Precept Statement

At the January monthly meeting Halesworth Town Council had to make a difficult decision to increase the precept. Last year the Council kept the precept unchanged for tax payers in the town but for the next financial year the Council was juggling with a much higher budget for 2023 – 2024, potentially over 20%. The Council agreed to minimise this rise and take up some of the shortfall from its reserves. The net result is an 8.49% increase which in currency terms is an additional £6.91 per year for a band D house, or 13.3p per week.

A comparison to other Market Towns is shown below, again using the average band D house as a mid-point. This is comparing Halesworth’s 2023 – 2024 precept against the other town’s 2022 – 2023 precepts because we do not have their data for 2023 – 2024 as yet. You can see that Halesworth has a lower precept than all of our local towns in the district except Beccles, which is supported by additional income from other sources. We have also shown all the other house bands for your information in the table further below; however, the percentage increase will remain the same across all bands.

It is worth noting that the precept has nothing to do with business tax which is determined at Government level and administered by East Suffolk Council.

Typically, the precept for towns and villages in 2022 – 2023 represented just 3.9% of your Council Tax. The vast majority of your bill goes towards paying for District and County services and the Police.

However small these precept numbers appear, relative to the overall Council Tax bill; the Town Council is very conscious that this increase may add to other household burdens and it may be difficult for some residents. If you are concerned about this and you are on low income or claim benefits you may be able to claim to up to a 100% reduction via the Government Council Tax Reduction Scheme.

The reason for the increase in Halesworth is to improve our town now that East Suffolk Council has begun the process of transferring the London Rd Building, Public Toilets, the Park and many Open Spaces to the Town Council’s ownership. It is needed in order to improve these assets for residents and visitors, to provide more services, increase the staff to manage these assets and to deliver on many new projects and events for the benefit of all.

All House Bands                        Precept Per Annum                             Increase Per Week

2023 – 2024                                   2023 – 2024                                        2023 - 2024

The Town Council has received notice of the disposal process for the Patrick Stead Hospital.

The building was registered as an asset of community value by the Halesworth & Blyth Valley Partnership around two to three years ago, this process allows the first option to buy the building to go to a community group before it goes on the open market. However, the Halesworth & Blyth Valley Partnership did not intend to get involved as they have always stated that the project was too large for them. The Town Council has also stated on several occasions that it did not have the resources to lead on a project of this size but it would offer help if a group could be formed. The Council has asked for interested parties to come forward in the past so we could see if there was enough interest and the necessary expertise but with very little success.

There is a 6 week period for community groups to register an interest (by 6th August) and 6 months thereafter for the group (s) to raise the market value of the building. It is now a very short time to achieve this goal but perhaps not impossible.

Interested parties can either form their own group or contact the office on clerk@halesworthtowncouncil.org.uk and we will try to facilitate a meeting

The notice letter from the NHS Property Services is attached for your information

NHS_PS Patrick Stead - 25062021

Following the passing of HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

The Chair of Town Council has marked the occasion by laying a wreath at the Arboretum and sent a letter of condolence to Her Majesty the Queen

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There will also be a memorial service broadcast via Zoom at 6pm Friday 16th April from St Mary's Meeting ID: 859 7931 9037 Passcode: 055019 Facebook live stream: Blyth Valley Churches Suffolk

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Funeral will take place on Saturday 17 April 2021 at 3pm in St George’s Chapel, Windsor. The Funeral Service will begin with a National Minute’s Silence at three o’clock.

In accordance with public health advice, members of the public are asked to continue to follow the current Government guidance, not to gather in crowds, and not to visit Royal residences to pay their respects.

During this time the Royal Family ask that members of the public consider making a donation to a charity instead of leaving floral tributes in memory of The Duke of Edinburgh

If you would like to complete the online book of condolence for His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh please use the following link here

If you know of friends or family members who cannot access the online book of condolences please send in letters to the Town Council Offices that can be included in a physical condolence book. These will need to be received by 5pm Sunday 18th April.

More information can be found at www.royal.uk

INFORMATION FOR HALESWORTH AND SURROUNDING VILLAGES

Local Response information: Halesworth Town Council in conjunction with the Volunteer Centre, the Blyth Valley Team Ministry, District and County Councillors and other community groups in the Town are working towards a co-ordinated approach in Halesworth to the COVID 19 virus. We are initially looking to organise volunteer help to ensure that all people in the Town who may be vulnerable or self-isolating have the help they need to obtain food shopping and medical prescriptions. We will publish further details on this website, Twitter and Facebook very soon.

The Volunteer Centre will be coordinating the response for Halesworth and the surrounding villages

Emma Healey - Centre Manager - Halesworth Volunteer Centre
01986 875600 or covid@halesworthvc.co.uk

We will be posting more information about how the coordinated response will help those in need soon.

The Government has issued further general information on the link below

https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-response

Staying at home advice https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/self-isolation-advice/

If you think you may have symptoms please go to https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

London Road & Walpole Road, Halesworth – Surface Dressing – August 2019
SCC Highways will be carrying out surface dressing at the following locations. This is necessary to stop further deterioration and improve the road surface.
Phase 1: A144 London Road, Halesworth – from Saxons Way Roundabout to Bramfield Road
Phase 2: B1117 Walpole Road, Halesworth – from Bramfield Road to outside Black House
The surface dressing is planned to take place overnight between 5th August and 10th August 2019
during the hours of 8pm and 5am. This is to minimise disruption to the travelling public during the
morning and afternoon rush hour. Phase 2 will start on completion of Phase 1.

As surface dressing is weather dependant a further notification leaflet will be dropped to residents
prior to works starting at each location. The leaflet will confirm the exact start date in the period stated
so that vehicles can be moved from the carriageway in advance. It will also provide more information
about how the works will be carried out.
On-street parking will be unavailable 8pm to 5am on each night of the works. Please
find an alternative place to park during this time or the evening before works begin
The roads will be temporarily closed to through traffic for the duration of the works. Access to
properties and businesses will be available but controlled by staff on site. Please speak to one of
our staff who will provide access as soon as it is safe to do so. Access for emergency services will
be maintained at all times.
During the period of the closure, traffic will be diverted via:
Phase 1: Sparrowhawk Road, B1124, A145, A12 and vice versa
Phase 2: B1116, B1123, A144 and vice versa
These temporary traffic management measures are required to allow the works to be carried out safely
and in accordance with current health and safety guidelines. Please see the information over the page
for more details of how access to your property will be affected by the works, as well as other
frequently asked questions.
If you have any other questions about the work, please call us on 0345 606 6171.
Once we have completed the works, it would be helpful if you could take a few moments to complete
a short survey at www.suffolk.gov.uk/suffolk-highways-survey. Your answers will help us improve our
service in the future.