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Roughlee Parish Council

2023-24 budget and precept, bus stop verge, May elections...

Villagers will be saddened to hear of the recent death of Bill Manley, who lived in Old Hall Close for over 40 years. Bill was a friendly and popular character in the local area, who regularly offered to help others and welcomed many newcomers to the village over the years. Sending our deepest sympathies to Catherine and the rest of his family at this sad time.

At the Parish Council meeting in January we discussed our budget for the year ahead and set the precept (income from council tax). After managing to avoid any budget increases since April 2020, rising costs mean that we will need to slightly increase the precept by 4.5% for 2023/24. For Band D properties, this means a modest increase of £2.30 per year.

You can see our priorities as a parish council reflected in how we spend this precept. Approximately 40% of the £8,500 budget is spent on FORA, gardening and village maintenance; ensuring the village continues to look its best for residents and visitors all year round. A further 40% is spent on employing a Clerk and a Responsible Financial Officer (RFO). A large part of the Clerk’s role is to liaise with Pendle Borough and Lancashire County councils to ensure the needs and views of Roughlee residents and parish councillors are conveyed across a wide range of issues including planning and highways: we feel it is very important to have a strong voice on behalf of the village.

The Clerk and RFO are also heavily involved in writing and managing grant bids for one-off projects and capital improvements for the village, from the recent Industrial Heritage Trail to new bi-fold doors at Roughlee Village Centre. So far in 2022-23, we have secured £13,650 through such grants for the benefit of the village. The final 20% is spent on miscellaneous items such as insurance, website hosting and equipment.

We hope that these priorities reflect what you want to see from your local parish council, and encourage you to get in touch with Mary at roughleeclerk591@gmail.com with any thoughts about future projects and proposals.

Several villagers have expressed concerns about the grass verge in front of the bus stop at Happy Valley, and the unsightly weeds growing through the stones. This current hardcore was laid by the county council to try and resolve the grass being regularly churned up by lorries and buses driving across it, but is not fit for purpose. We have now submitted an application to instead lay setts from locally-sourced stone as a more attractive, permanent solution.

I’m sorry to say that FORA have reported a noticeable increase in the amount of litter and dog fouling in the local area, and aim to draw up plans to try and stop the small number of offenders. We are very grateful to the volunteers who regularly pick up litter and keep the village looking tidy, and ask all residents to remain vigilant. Fines can be enforced where necessary: for littering (including throwing litter from a car) the on-the-spot fine is £150, and for dog fouling the fine is £100.

Finally, we have been asked to remind residents that elections will take place in May 2023, and all voters now require photo ID to be able to vote in person. Acceptable IDs include a passport, driving licence, Blue Badge or concessionary travel pass funded by HM Government or a local authority. If you do not have photo ID you can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate online by Tuesday 25 April 2023 (you need to be registered to vote before applying). Voter ID is not needed for anyone voting by post.

Please also note that any villager who wants to be considered to join the parish council will have the opportunity to put their name forward at this election in May. Details will be shared in due course by the Parish Clerk.

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