A seaside town popular with holiday makers has announced a tax hike. Penzance Council has voted on its budget for the year ahead including an increase in the precept for residents as a way to provide more services for local people.
At its full council meeting held on Monday, January 13, Penzance Council voted unanimously to adopt a new budget and earmarked reserves for 2025/26. The new budget included an increase in precept by 1.8 per cent which it said will work out as £5.82 a year for anyone living in a band D property.
As band D falls in the middle of the eight council tax bands, it is the standard measure used by local authorities to announce their precept. However, 80 per cent of households in the Penzance parish are council tax band A-C, which means the vast majority of households will see a real-term increase of £5.18 per year or less. This works out as an extra 10p a week or less.
Meanwhile Cornwall Council decided to hit second homeowners much harder by doubling their council tax last October. At a meeting in October when the decision was made, Cornwall Council said its net revenue budget for 2025/26 is forecast to be £825m. After “income” for the council is taken into consideration, including council tax (around £417m), the second homes premium (£23.7m), business rates (£273.7m) and government grants (£101m), it will leave a budget gap of just over £9m.
The authority is assuming a maximum 4.99 per cent council tax rise for the third year running, which includes two per cent for adult social care, as well as up to £24.8m from the 100 per cent council tax premium on Cornwall’s 12,760 second homes including 434 band D equivalent second homes in Penzance.
The increase in precept agreed by Penzance Council will be on top of that council tax hike and second home council tax premium. Councillor Nigel Pengelly, chairman of the finance and general purposes committee, said: “As the financial pressures on local authorities exacerbate and town councils, like Penzance, take on the responsibilities of larger councils, I think it’s a huge achievement to keep the precept rise to less than two per cent – and less than inflation.
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“Penzance Council has ambitious plans for the town and this budget increase – although just 1.8 per cent – will enable the council to deliver these services.”
All the money residents pay to Penzance Council is spent within the parish across Penzance, Newlyn, Mousehole, Paul, Heamoor, Gulval and Eastern Green. The money is used to provide local services and maintain public facilities including, but not restricted to:
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Seven public toilets and the community toilet scheme
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An anti-social behaviour caseworker
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19 CCTV cameras in Penzance town centre
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Wherrytown skateboard plaza
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Penlee park
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Penlee house gallery and museum
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Princess May recreation ground
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Alexandra Play Park & Tennis Courts
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Heamoor Old School Field
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Parish-wide weeding – around 120km (75 miles) of pavements across the whole parish
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Watering the hanging baskets in the town centre during the summer
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Penzance Town Christmas lights and Christmas tree
The cash raised from the precept also helps to give out grants to local community projects including funding for the Golowan Festival as well as Growing Links CIC, MusicAbility CIC, Global Jamming, Penzance Rotary Club, Chapel Street Music, Heamoor CIO, Newlyn Harbour Lights, Devon and Cornwall Watch, Montol Festival CIC, St. Piran in Penwith, Penzance Literary Festival, PZN Youth CIC, Cornwall International Male Choral, Hypatia Trust, Mounts Bay Academy, Newlyn Regeneration CIC, Sea Salts and Sail, Penzance Community Flora Group, YMCA, Paul Cricket Club, Quiet Connections CIC, Penzance Studios and Treneere Team Spirit.
Penzance Council has also allocated £24,200 funding to Pengarth Day Centre, which provides a much-needed service for older residents with its ‘Meals on Wheels’ and range of activities in its hub in Morrab Gardens.
Cllr Stephen Reynolds, Mayor of Penzance, said: “This budget shows that with prudent financial management, it’s still possible to provide high-quality local services and increase grant support for our amazing community groups, while keeping the impact on hard-pressed residents to the minimum.
“I’m really pleased that we will be able to move into new service areas – like improving the level of footpath maintenance across our communities – while at the same time maintaining a healthy level of reserves to meet potential future challenges.”
A full list of Penzance Council services is available online: www.penzance-tc.gov.uk/what-we-do
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