The parish council works on behalf of the various communities of our rural parish, to protect and improve the social, environmental and recreational well-being of our area, including:
- maintenance of footpaths and benches
- management of the woodland plantation at Cross Green
- provision and management of allotments
- representing resident views in planning consultations
- liaising with authorities and businesses about environmental issues, traffic and flood prevention
- provision of additional grit bins
- working with Police Community Support Officers on illegal parking, speeding, anti-social behaviour
- provision and maintenance of three defibrillators using resident donations and support.
A report of our activities over the past year is given here: https://southdarleyparishcouncil.gov.uk/parish-council-review-2021-22/.
Although much of this work is undertaken by unpaid councillors, we receive no government funding and must operate within our set budget with funds raised through a parish precept to cover the various costs. For South Darley, in 2021-22 the precept was £6,000, being £20 per household for a Band D property. Following a careful review of the Parish Council’s role and responsibilities, the council has reluctantly agreed that it is necessary to increase the precept substantially for 2022-23.
A long-standing restraint in terms of the precept has left the council with no option but to meet its increasing obligations from its reserves. In 2020-21, our expenditure exceeded income by almost £1,000. At the start of April 2021, our reserves were down to £1,739. Best practice suggests that reserves should cover 6 to 12 months of annual expenditure. In 21-22, we had to operate with a much reduced budget of £6,500, down from £7,643 in the previous year, in an attempt to balance the books. A full set of accounts will be posted on this website. This reduced budget resulted in the curtailment or postponement of several normal activities. This is clearly not a satisfactory nor sustainable position.
In terms of benchmarking with other parish councils, the average Band D charge in 2020-21 for a group of 13 other local parishes of similar size and density to South Darley was £56. South Darley was the lowest with £20. The next lowest was £31. The average total precept in 2021 for this benchmark group of local parishes was £15,278. South Darley was the lowest with £6000.
As with all parishes in the benchmark group, South Darley has an increasing range of responsibilities and commitments and the Council needs take clear, remedial action to address the risks of not being able to meet these through insufficient funds. Simply put: the council cannot continue to operate effectively with such a low budget and with low reserves.
We do of course seek opportunities for raising income through grants and sponsorship and have had generous resident donations for specific items. If any of the following: a parish walk, footpath maintenance, grit bins, noticeboards, benches, allotments etc. appeal to you personally or to your company to sponsor, please do get in touch and discuss how you might make a modest but significant contribution to our community.
To cover our commitments without further drawing on reserves, the council has unanimously agreed a budget of £12,896. This is of course double that of this year – an absolute increase of £6,396. It represents an increase of about £20 per year to a Band D household.
This has been a decision that has been taken after some considerable soul-searching but we consider we have no choice if we are to continue the current, modest level of provision and meet the challenges that we face. This increased budget does not, however, allow for contingencies or any contribution to increase reserves.
It is worth noting that this substantial increase will still leave South Darley with one of the lowest Band D charges in the benchmark group and with barely adequate reserves. However, given that the vast majority of the work of the council is undertaken by volunteer councillors who take no expenses, we are confident that with this budget we can continue to provide and develop our service to the community in which we live.