Finances of Claygate Parish Council

From Claygate

Allocation of Grants

Community projects have benefited from the Parish Council so far this year, including money spent on the Village Hall and a provisional grant to assist with the potential purchase of The Winning Horse pub.

The Parish Precept is an annual levy raised on all council taxpayers and based, like council tax, on the value of their property. It is separate from the council tax, which goes to Surrey County Council and Elmbridge Borough Council, and separate from the levy raised by Surrey Police. All the money collected for the Parish Precept is spent in Claygate, for Claygate residents.

The Council is able to continue supporting local causes thanks to the increase in the annual Parish Precept, which for eight years remained unchanged so that its value was gradually eroded. This made it difficult to continue providing many of its services to the community and to support projects. The levy was therefore increased by 12 per cent for the 2024-25 year, meaning a Band D equivalent property now pays £15.85 for the year to the end of March 2025.

So far this year, the Parish Council has supported the following community projects:

£10,679 refurbishment grant for the Claygate Village Hall towards the cost of stage improvements and furnishings.
£2,000 grant to the Claygate Community Benefit Society to pay for the valuation of The Winning Horse pub.
£481 to the Claygate Recreation Ground Trust towards the cost of new benches for the area outside Treetops.
£500 to the Claygate Village Association towards the cost of the stage at the village lights event on The Parade (see CVA news, page 10).
£400 to the Claygate Village Association towards the cost of the Christmas tree on The Green.

In addition to the Precept, the Council can benefit from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), which Elmbridge Borough Council can charge on specific new building developments. The sum received by the Parish Council can be spent on projects that could not otherwise be supported from the Precept or other funds.

The Parish Council has earmarked £50,000 from its CIL grant for the Claygate Community Benefit Society, the funding being contingent upon it raising the rest of the money required to purchase and renovate The Winning Horse pub as a community venue—see page 5.

Any local group or organisation planning a project to benefit the local community might be eligible for a Parish Council grant or Community Infrastructure Levy support. Please visit the council’s website or contact the Parish Clerk at clerk@claygateparishcouncil.gov.uk to find out more.

source: Claygate Courier, October 2024 issue, page 8

The numbers at a glance

Detail 2023-24 Source
Financial Year End 31st March [1]
Precept £53,374 [1]
CIL Revenue £74,108 [3]
Employees 1 [3]
Fixed Assets £25,697 [1]
Clerk Salary + Pension £12,889 [2]
Locum Clerk Salary £13,018 [4]
Election Expenses £11,282 [2]
Grants and Public Projects £5,334 [5]

Sources

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Where can I find a list of the Parish Council’s assets?

A listing can be found in Appendix A accompanying the Agenda from the Annual Meeting of 16th May 2024. It’s not easy to read. Here is a summary of the items on that list: Assets of Claygate Parish Council.

2. Where can I see the Annual Accounts?

Again the figures are in Appendix A].

3. How much did the Parish Council spend on interim locum Clerk Ron Spurs in 2023?

£13,018. This is a higher figure than the Parish Council spent on wages for all its employed Clerks in 2023 (£12,394). You can get an idea of the length of his contract by comparing this £12,394 figure to the budget for the year: £16,862. The figures suggest that the Parish Council had salaried clerks for 74% of the year, and thus the locum for 26%. On the assumption that the locum worked no more hours per week than our salaried clerks, you can work out how much higher his weekly wages were. By adding the £13,018 to the £12,394 and subtracting the £16,862, you can also calculate another of the costs of the bullying episode to Claygate — £8,550 — by way of excess clerk costs. (All figures found in the same Appendix A].

4. How much did the Connecting Claygate episode cost residents?

Four of the Connecting Claygate councillors resigned early in 2024, leading to a by-election which is likely to have cost us around £11,000. We won’t see the exact figure for a while. Add in the excess clerk costs of £8,550 and you get a figure of nearly £20,000 which residents would not face in a normal term of office. It is up to you if you want to link this to the ten petitioners who in 2022 insisted there be a by-election—rather than costless co-option—for the one vacancy at the time. That cost residents around £10,000. So we’re seeing a figure of around £30,000 for the political infiltration of Claygate by one group over the past two years. No wonder the Parish Council has had to increase the precept in 2024.

5. When does the Parish Council publish financial figures?

Retrieved from "http://claygate.org.uk/index.php?title=Finances_of_Claygate_Parish_Council&oldid=8835"