THE 2018/19 precept and budget for Holsworthy was discussed by town councillors at an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday, January 18.

The town council will be levying a precept of £129,830 in the coming financial year to pay for the ongoing running costs of the council.

The precept is collected on the town council’s behalf by Torridge District Council (TDC) and represents an increase of 38 pence per week for a person paying the full council tax charge on a Band D property compared to last year.

However, 77% of the properties in the town fall in to council tax bands A to C and will therefore be paying less than this.

The town council currently own and manage most of the recreational green spaces in the town as well as the war memorial and five public footpaths. The council’s budgeted expenditure is in excess of £170,330 for 2018/19 versus an estimated income of £40,500.

Councillors said they felt there was a ‘very real threat’ to some of the frontline services in the town, which are maintained by TDC and Devon County Council — for example, emptying of waste and dog waste bins, toilets, counter service, grass cutting, highways maintenance etc.

During the meeting town clerk, Vanessa Saunders, said: “In an era where town councils are being asked to do more and more, for example a lot of the things that were once the district or county councils responsibilities are now ours, we thought it was imperative to levy a realistic precept.”

The local precept will cover the upkeep of Stanhope Park along with Badock and Rowland Gardens as well as the management of the weekly pannier market and events throughout the town including the Christmas lights switch-on.

The mayor of Holsworthy Jon Hutchings said: “During 2017/18 the council has sought to source external funding as much as possible including the successful funding bids that have secured the complete rebuild and refurbishment of the sports pavilion and the provision of defibrillators throughout the town and it will seek further funding for projects that will further improve the facilities in the town.

“Some of the projects to be delivered in 2018/19 include the provision of a public toilet within Stanhope Park, extending the CCTV coverage, improved signage within the town centre, improving works to the bus shelter and the commemoration of 100 years since the end of the First World War.”

The town clerk explained to councillors that in setting the council’s budget for the financial year ahead, the town council has kept expenditure down to a minimum and ‘endeavoured to make as many savings as it can within the town budget’.

She made assurances that the council will continue to weigh up the cost of any expenditure against the benefit to the community.