Council Meeting
10 April 2025
BUDGET MONITOR 202 4/25

1. All Committees
The Council’s budget for 2024/25 was £206,048.50 of which £148,000 was
funded by the Precept, the remainder to be taken from reserves as necessary.
At the end of the financial year the Council had spent £173,804.81 which
represents 117% of the precept and 84% of the budget. £25,804.81 was taken
from reserves to support the budget.

2. Burial Grounds
At the end of the financial year, the Burial Grounds Committee had spent 57%
of its budget of £10,635.00, leaving an underspend of £4615. Cemetery fees
exceeded the £10,000 anticipated in the budget by £1665, which when offset
reduced the Committee’s total spend.

3. EBNP review
The Neighbourhood Plan Review has been progressing and the draft plan will
be published for public consultation in the 2025/26 financial year. This has
been achieved with the help of consultants. Other consultants are also
assisting with the Neighbourhood Plan traffic proposals and with the
conservation area extension proposal. Consultancy fees have been the only
expenditure in the financial year, amounting to £25,035, 89% of the budget of
£28,000 and an underspend of £2,965.

4. Playing Fields
The Playing Fields Committee has spent £40,256, an overspend on its budget
of £1056. The reason for this has been the cost of general tree works, fencing
works at the Bowls Club and ground clearance for the Parish Council (Cricket
Club) project. These works were all necessary and could not be deferred to
the new financial year. Otherwise, budget heads have largely been used up
but not exceeded save for a £200 overspend on the Pavilion Project of
£11,000.

5. RFF (General)
The committee spent £10,242, 65% of it budget of £15,700. Expenditure has
been limited to litter picking and provision and emptying of dog and waste
bins. The underspend of £5,458 will revert to reserves.

6. RFF (Car Park)
Expenditure in 2024/25 has been limited to toilet cleaning, utilities and car
park maintenance which together have amounted to £12,035, 81% of the
budget. No major tree surgery was required during the financial year, which
explains the underspend.

7. SPF (General)
There have been some significant variances in the individual budget heads of
this committee in 2024/25. Bank Interest anticipated to be £2,000 has turned
out to be £12,350 which when offset against expenditure provided a windfall
of £10,350. However, Contingencies with a budget of £5,000 has resulted in
expenditure of £22,096 due to a number of unforeseen/unbudgeted
eventualities, including part payment of the sit-on mower (for the balance
beyond the insurance settlement), insurances costing more as a result of the
claim, valuation of the Red Lion estate, legal fees relating to the car park
dispute and the acquisition of the Congregation Church and the Media
consultancy.

Despite these variances, the total spend of the SPF Committee amounted to
£63,696, an overspend of £1,596 which had it not been for all the
contingencies would have been a comfortable, though not excessive
underspend.

8. SPF (Grants)
Throughout this financial year the grants budget has been impeded due to a
large award made at the end of the previous financial year but not paid until
the current year, which has distorted this year’s budget. Awards against the
budget of £15,000 have remained generally consistent with those in previous
years but the impediment of the above payment has resulted in an overall
overspend of £675.
9. Young People Committee
Although only £333 had been spend from the budget of £20,000 by the end of
the financial year, the Committee has now commissioned contractors to
undertake the delivery of the committee’s youth work programme and
expenditure upon this and other embryonic projects will take up the bulk of
similar budget provision in 2025/26.

10. Other income/expenditure
In the course of the financial year to the end of the financial year, the Council
has received income which is outside the budget amounting to £733,048.85.
This comprises the precent (£148,000), Neighbourhood CIL (£552,033.69),
cleansing and groundwork grants (£12,547.40), reserves of £467.76 held on
proxy for the friends of Broom Knoll and a £20,000 contribution from the
Tennis Club towards the Parish Council (Tennis Club) project.

Additionally, it has made payments outside the budget from reserves
amounting to £62455.10 comprising S146 notice costs £29,517.97, Broom
Knoll proxy £878.70, PC Tennis Club Project £13,186.19, PC Bowls Club
Project £4,843.34, Dedham Vale JR costs fund £5,000 and CIL awards of
£9,028.90,

Graham White
Parish Clerk
7 April 2025