ILMINSTER Town Council has voted in favour of setting its precept at £231,223 for the new financial year. Councillors crunched the numbers at a town council meeting and decided on a rise of 1.5% on 2014/15 which was £227,806.

The annual charge for a Band D property in 2015/16 will be £120.83 – a rise of 19p for the year and is an increase of 0.16%. Town clerk Joy Norris said: “The reason for the difference in percentage figures is that the council tax base has increased and more houses are contributing to the precept.”

The additional precept will assist funding for:  A “grant-pot” to which local organisations will be able to apply for funding;  Cemetery maintenance;  Maintenance of skatepark surfaces;  And increasing the level of reserves held by the council, as recommended by the auditors.

The town’s Local Information Centre and youth centre both receive an allocation of financial support in the budget, to the tune of £500 and £2,000 respectively.

Cllr Andrew Lawson’s proposal that a pot of £1,000 should be made available for local community groups to makes bids to the council was accepted.

Cllr Sophie Storey requested that provision of about £2,500 be made towards new play equipment for the Winterhay Lane recreation ground, though it was voted against due to funds already being allocated to the park.

Councillors agreed at the meeting last Tuesday that a rise of 1% would be too low and a proposal of a 1.25% to “split the difference”, which was put forward by Cllr Rose Neave, failed to gain the required backing.

The vote on a rise of 1.5% was initially split with six votes for and against the proposal, and it came to Mayor Emma Jane Taylor to issue the casting vote.

Cllr Taylor said: “Having looked at all of the figures, I tend to agree that a rise of just 1% would be a little bit too low and therefore I will vote in favour of the 1.5% increase.”