The Survey

Background 

In the past, village maintenance, such as grass cutting, river weed clearance and recreation ground upkeep, has been mainly carried out voluntarily by residents of the village.  Over the recent years, this has become increasingly difficult to continue, due to a number of factors:

• the number of volunteers has waned
• residents have busy, working lives
• the work is often physically demanding and not appropriate for older residents
• expensive equipment (e.g. lawnmowers) has to be maintained and replaced
• there are health and safety, and public liability insurance issues

WDPC has therefore increasingly had to commission professional contractors for essential maintenance.
This has to be paid for from within the WDPC budget, which is funded by the 'precept'.

What is a precept? 

The precept is the Parish Council's share of the council tax. Each year, the Parish Council has to decide on the funds required for the following year and sets the precept.  This goes to the billing authority, the District Council, who colllects the tax for the Parish Councils. The precept is converted into a variable amount, related to your Council Tax Band, which is added onto your Council Tax bill.

West Dean is unusual in that the village straddles the two counties of Wiltshire and Hampshire;  the county you live in decides which Parish Council precept will be added to your Council Tax Bill. This geographical and historical anomaly means that approximately 18% of West Dean properties in Hampshire pay their precept to West Tytherley Parish Council, even if they live in the centre of West Dean village; with those in Wiltshire paying to West Dean Parish Council. 

The survey
Because of the increase in external services sought by the Parish Council to maintain the village, and the potential projected rise in the precept required to fund these and other activities, residents were asked in November 2020 to help the Parish Council understand their priorities for the village.  

The Results

The results of the survey were discussed in the Parish Council Meeting held on 18 November 2020.

The results are published below along with a copy of the draft budget  figures for 2021-22 to provide an open and collaborative environment to ensure that those affected by the  West Dean Precept are kept informed.

The budget for 2021-22 will be decided in the Parish Council Meeting to be held on 12 January 2021.