Coleorton Parish Council is aware of discussions and concerns raised by parishioners regarding Coleorton Special Expenses, and the increase for the coming year as shown on their council tax bill. North West Leicestershire District Council (NWLDC) sets the Coleorton Special Expenses and these are paid directly to NWLDC. Coleorton Parish Council has no input to, or control over these expenses. The parish council’s annual precept of £14,348 has not been increased since 2016.
Essentially the elements of the special expenses are for routine grounds maintenance of the closed churchyard of St. Mary’s Church, routine grounds maintenance of Forrester Close play area, cleansing services for emptying a bin at the play area and some planned preventative maintenance for 21/22 covering tree works at St. Mary’s closed churchyard. There was a query raised during these discussions regarding ownership of the Forrester Close play area. NWLDC owns this land.
The parish council was in discussion with NWLDC last year regarding a possible change of ownership but ultimately this did not happen. It is quite possible this is where a misunderstanding has arisen; the discussions are minuted, as is the decision of the parish council to decline the offer to take ownership. You can of course contact the Finance Team directly at NWLDC for further information and a detailed breakdown of the special expenses.
We hope this clarifies the situation.