Wednesday, May 18 2016
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PAPER
Tax increases or cut in services? INSIDE Council asks residents to decide FOOD & DRINK
Special 4-page pull out festival programme inside
By Neill Barston THE Leader of Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council has claimed residents ‘are being clobbered’ by a Government decision that will leave its coffers nearly £2million short over the next four years. Nicolas Heslop said the public had a choice between permitting council tax increases or facing a reduction in the range of services that the council provides. For residents in Tonbridge, the increases would mean households paying on average an extra £42 a year for the borough’s portion of the overall annual tax bill. The additional sum, billed as a ‘local
charge’, would pay for upkeep of the area’s local parks, playgrounds, allotments, events and cemeteries. Speaking at a meeting of the Tonbridge Forum, the borough leader revealed the council was one of only 15 in the country deemed to be performing sufficiently strongly, meaning that the Government’s grant funding would be slashed on an accelerated rate within the next two years. Mr Heslop said: “We have made representations on this issue to the Government through (Tunbridge Wells MP and Communities Minister) Greg Clark. While we are being given some flexibility, we are also in a position over the next few years where we will actually owe the Government an extra £1million.
“We have been penalised for following what the Government has actually asked us to do in terms of encouraging businesses and building houses to meet population growth,” explained the council leader, who stressed it was important that residents had their say through the public consultation.
‘Running services costs more than we have coming in’ While he said the council would in future be funded largely through retaining business rates, there was uncertainty over how much money such a strategy would actually produce. If the new council tax system
is approved, the borough would cease paying a grant of £226,000 towards parish areas to claw back some of its shortfall. Sharon Shelton, the council’s director of finance, said the introduction of a revised tax system was ‘a difficult issue’ but believed a new charge would spread the tax costs more evenly across the authority. She said: “We have to make significant savings as a council as the cost of running the council’s services is more than the council presently has coming in.” To take part in the tax consultation, visit www.tmbc.gov.uk/localcharge Anyone requiring it in another format should call 01732 876086. The questionnaires must be returned by June 20.
Volunteers reach out to area’s dementia sufferers GOOD VINTAGE Carl Lewis, former fireman Denis Newman and Pam Mills
A SERIES of special events are taking place in Tonbridge over the next few days marking Dementia Awareness week. The campaign, led by the Alzheimer’s Society, aims to tackle key issues surrounding mental health affecting hundreds of thousands across the UK. Volunteers from Building a Dementia Friendly Tonbridge kick-started events last Saturday, with the launch of a new dementia café at the town’s Methodist Church. This was followed by a three-day photo exhibition at the Old Fire Station which included an appearance from a vintage Land Rover fire engine formerly used by the area’s fire teams. The exhibition featured a number of photos and artefacts from the station’s history, with town flood warden Carl Lewis dressing in authentic 1950s brigade uniform. Among the other free events is a themed talk at Tonbridge library tomorrow (Thursday May 19, at 6pm) about Second World War evacuees, followed
by the formal opening of the Angel Centre’s sensory garden on Saturday. A cooking with rations event also takes place at the Tonbridge Food and Drink Festival on the castle’s lawns on Sunday May 22, evoking tastes and smells from the 1940s. Meanwhile, on Wednesday May 25, Havet Turkish restaurant in Tonbridge is staging a ‘meze and meet’ session, and Bubbles Launderette rounds off events with a Dementia Friends Awareness session on Thursday May 26 from 7pm. Organiser Pam Mills said: “We have taken our inspiration from Christine Parker of Abbey Funeral Services, who has led Building a Dementia Friendly Tonbridge events, which we are doing as part of the national dementia week, and hope they will help encourage people to find out more about dementia.” Mr Carl Lewis said: “It’s always worthwhile getting involved with events like this to support such issues. “People who are suffering from dementia can still live very full lives, though there’s still something of a stigma attached to it.”
FROM PAGE 29
GATEWAY SUCCESS Improved Tonbridge Lock area officially opened
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BIDDING FOR FUNDS New community fundraising scheme comes to town
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