The Town Council sets an annual precept as part of the Council Tax to help pay for the many local services we provide. This has been a particularly challenging year for the Town Council with a significant loss of income following the closure of the Civic Hall in March due to Covid restrictions. Although the Civic Hall opened to some hirers between August and December, many were unable to return because of the restrictions imposed by government.
The Council has worked hard in difficult circumstances to keep the precept low and made savings wherever possible. The Town Council’s precept for 2021/22 is £491,795, an increase over the current year of £2,531, a decrease of 0.73% for a Band D home. The annual precept for a Band D home is £82.60 for the year, or £1.59 per week. We believe that this represents good value for money when measured against all the additional services in Poynton which are provided by the Town Council. These include:
• Support for the community during the Covid-19 pandemic
• Christmas tree and Christmas lights
• Hockley and Brecon Close play areas
• The majority of Lady’s and Prince’s Inclines
• CCTV monitoring – 5 cameras in the centre of Poynton
• Graffiti removal
• Coppice Road allotments
• The Civic Hall, owned and maintained by the Town Council, is home to an increasing number of local voluntary organisations and clubs and needs maintenance and improvements. It is currently being used as a vaccine centre
• Funding for the Citizens Advice service
• Financial support for community events including Higher Poynton Summerfest and the Christmas Fest if they take place this year
• Supporting voluntary and community organisations including Poynton in Bloom, Friday Morning Shoppers and Time out Café
• The Town Council acts as Poynton’s voice on many issues, including defending the Green Belt and protecting the environment
• The Town Council employs three Community Support Officers who are a visible uniformed presence in Poynton. They provide an ‘eyes and ears’ service aimed at reducing the fear of crime for residents and improving their quality of life. Their remit includes dealing with environmental crime issues, such as littering, fly tipping and dog fouling and reducing incidents of low level crime and antisocial behaviour.
• The Communities Co-ordinator promotes health and well-being initiatives for both older and younger people, working with voluntary groups and service providers to ensure Poynton is a strong and resilient community. Poynton is officially a dementia friendly town and it became the first Town Council in Cheshire to achieve the bronze NHS Self Care Award. Other work includes supporting the Poynton Area Community Partnership and the scheme to lend out mobility scooters and wheelchairs.
• The Operations Manager and Village Ranger have a key role working with Cheshire East, pushing for road and footpath repairs, drain clearance and lighting improvements; dealing with residents’ enquiries and litter problems; supporting the Pick and Tidy group; emptying bins and similar jobs maintaining Poynton’s infrastructure.
Town Councillors receive no form of salary, attendance or other allowances and give freely of their time.
