AFTER lengthy discussions Chudleigh Town Councillors have taken the decision to increase the precept for 2023/24 to £170,883 from its current level of £164,311.

Band D households in Chudleigh currently pay £2,169.90 in Council tax, of which £89.92 comes to the Town Council.

This increase will mean that the Band D property contribution to the Town Council will rise to £93.52 per annum, which equates to an increase of £3.60 per annum or 30 pence per month.

Cllr Victoria Hadley, the Chair of the Town Council and Mayor, said: ‘In the current economic climate we do realise that any increase in Council Tax bills will be unwelcome. We have not increased the council tax that comes to the Town Council since 2019/20 and have absorbed all the price increases over those four years - however, that could not continue indefinitely.

‘This winter we provided a “warm places” initiative. That, though, costs us more than £200 per week. We are finding that we are needing to pay for things that the higher level authorities used to provide. For example this year the Town Council has paid for the cutting of roadside verges and the spraying of weeds in urban areas: the cost to the Council was close to £2,200.’