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Melton Messenger – A Note from Carol-February 2025

February is when Parish Councils put forward their requests for funding via the Precept, which comes as part of your Council Tax charge each year.  As a former Government Auditor who worked closely with the National Audit Office, the Taxpayers watchdog for the spending of public money, I am acutely aware that every penny received comes from yours and my pocket.  Melton remains one of the lowest Precept charges in East Suffolk, for a larger Parish Council, and one of the most efficient.  This is a testament to the sound financial management that has been in place for many years.  But being prudent in the way we spend funds brings its own challenges.  We are much more sensitive to price increases simply because we have a much smaller pot available to us than many.

This year is no exception.  It won’t have escaped your notice that there has been a significant increase in the cost of living.  For businesses like ours, we have the added burden of an increase to National Insurance and Salaries for our employed staff, which are controlled outside of the Council, in addition to the increase in cost of utilities and services.  The play equipment in the recreation ground is ageing fast, as is the multi-use play area, tennis courts and other equipment.  This alone has increased our predicted budget spend for recreation by nearly 28% for this year alone.  Although we will work hard to access grants and other funding streams, once again, we have had to request an increase in the precept which is slightly higher than the current rate of inflation.

The request will be for an increase of 6.9% which equates to 37p per band D house per month or £4.45 per year.  Working with these figures, and hopefully from increasing our income from other sources like grants and the letting of the Pavilion, the Council will be able to balance its budget.

I realise that some may be concerned that this is again an above inflation increase but I hope I have explained the circumstances that have led to this decision.  We will be posting the table showing where Melton sits financially in its group and of course, the budgets are published routinely on our website.  But if you have any concerns, please email me in the usual way and I will do my best to provide you with an answer.

In December, I was pleased to accept an invitation to the Sutton Hoo Ship’s Company Wittan who are currently building a replica Saxon Ship of the type found in Sutton Hoo in the 1930s.  The ships company read a press statement, released that day, announcing they had managed to secure a 25 year lease with Robinsons Boatyard.  The ship and all its chattels will be moving to Robinsons Boatyard probably within the next 2 years.  Personally, I was really pleased to hear this news.  Many of Melton’s residents have a close voluntary relationship with the ship and I think it is a great coo for the area to have such a historic artefact remaining within sight of its ancestral home.

You may remember last winter, volunteers from the Council and Transition Woodbridge borrowed some heat cameras to show residents where they might be losing heat from their properties.  At the time, there wasn’t a lot of help available with the cost of making improvements, but in the East Suffolk Magazine December 2024 edition, I noticed that the government is now offering interest-free loans to help make residents homes warmer, safer, cheaper to run and more energy efficient.  Loans could be up to £15000 to be repaid over a maximum of 7 years and could be used to cover the cost of installing energy efficient boilers, insulation, glazing, solar panels and batteries.  For more information, go to www.lendology.org.uk/warm-home-suffolk-loan

Finally, we were sorry to hear of the death of Kay Yule, Councillor for Woodbridge and East Suffolk.  Kay passed away in December after a short illness.  She was a dedicated, passionate and experienced Councillor for the area.  Councillors from Melton Parish Council have passed on their condolences to her family, friends and colleagues. I know she will be missed.