Council Tax and Leiston’s Precept 20023/24

Leiston-cum-Sizewell Town Council appreciate that over the next year finances are going to be tight for many people and this includes businesses and councils as well. We have worked hard to ensure we can carry on providing all the same services, to the same standards as before, without increasing our precept by a large amount. Unfortunately we too have been hit hard with the rise in utilities bills, but we have tried hard to cover these costs by other means.

So what is the Council Tax for Leiston?

All the figures that follow are based on a BAND D Council Tax property as this is the recognised benchmark. However only 6% of households in Leiston are Band D, with most houses falling in the Band A or Band B.

Your Council Tax bill covers 4 separate elements:

Suffolk County Council

£1,496.43 (increase of £57.51)

East Suffolk Council

£181.17 (increase of £4.95)

Police

£181.17 (increase of £14.94)

Leiston-cum-Sizewell Town Council

£173.42 (increase of £1.79)

Suffolk County Council, East Suffolk Council and the Police taxes will be the same for every household in the East Suffolk district. The Leiston-cumSizewell Town Council tax is what we precept for the year to allow us to carry out the wide and varied services we offer.

So what does Leiston-cum-Sizewell

Town Council offer for the residents?

Leiston is lucky to have a variety of services to offer which are maintained and operated by Leiston-cum-Sizewell Town Council.

These include our two lovely big parks, King George’s Recreational Ground, which has a great selection of play ground equipment and a BMX pump track, as well as being positioned next door to our ever growing Community Orchard (do visit the wonderful display of wild flowers and hopefully soon you can pick some of its fruit as well). There is also a large sports field by the orchard, which is free for the public to use.

But that’s not all for Leiston’s green areas, the Town Council also looks after two large allotment areas, which are in high demand, so if you would like an allotment do get your name on our waiting list, by contacting the office. Our allotments are an escape for many people, which can offer more than just exercise, but it’s good for your mental health to be able to look after and grow your own fruit and veg!

What’s also good for your wellbeing is a spot of nature watching or fishing down at Hayling’s Pond. This hidden gem of Leiston really is a little slice of tranquillity and with the help from the Leiston Youth and Community Angling Society who work hard to maintain this pond, it really is a great asset to the town.

During the summer months we work hard with the support of kind donations from businesses to provide the town with beautifully coloured hanging baskets, which certainly brighten up the High Street.

Our Victory Road Recreational Ground now boasts an amazing skatepark complete with new bowl and street plaza for all your skating and riding needs, also not forgetting a wonderfully packed toddler play area, an outside gym and boules piste, there really is something for everyone here! Not forgetting it will be playing host to the Coronation Jam in May too.

The Town Council also operates the popular Film Theatre which offers a wide range of films and stage shows, as well as providing extreme comfort and refreshments galore.

Our Community Centre still remains a firm favourite with many clubs and party goers, this spacious centre includes a full working kitchen, with dishwasher and ovens and a large interactive board in the hall, this centre is great for meetings and get togethers.

Not forgetting our newest asset, the Waterloo Centre, with its large gymnasium, board room, kitchen, multi games outside area and large field, this centre is great for sport activities and is available to hire. It will also be playing host to the new Leiston Live Well Centre opening soon. The Centre also has a redevelopment plan which will see the town benefit from more facilities which could include a cafe linking with the Victory Park, a climbing wall and soft play area and gaming station, this is a large project, so do watch this space as we develop the centre.

The Town Council also funds the Leiston Youth Club, as it is an important service for the youth of the town and without our support this club with have to close.

Lastly, Leiston - cum - Sizewell Town Council each year donates around £10,000 towards projects and facilities for the town. These grants are considered by the Town Council and are chosen carefully to ensure the money will be used within Leiston/Sizewell or to benefit Leiston and Sizewell residents. If your club or group would like to apply for grant money, then please do get in touch with the office, we are here to help provide the town with the support and facilities it requires for the residents to enjoy living in Leiston and Sizewell.

Part of your council tax to East Suffolk Council, helps to pay for the Leiston Leisure Centre, as well as the Cemetery, which they own and maintain. Without East Suffolk Council paying for these, it would be likely we would lose these much needed facilities.

Hopefully from the above you can see what Leiston-cum-Sizewell Town looks after and supports, all through the precept which allows Leiston to be proud of what it has to offer. We appreciated the word ‘council’ gets offered up very quickly when something goes wrong, like pot holes and litter, but we are only a small part of the word ‘council’ as you can see East Suffolk Council and Suffolk County Council are also involved and we are happy to help point you towards the right council to help solve your problems, as many issues are beyond our control.

If anyone is interested in finding out more or wishing to look over the accounts, please contact the Town Council Office - 01728 830388assets@leistontowncouncil.gov.uk and we will be happy to help.

Hannah Everett-Spearing RFO & Assets Officer

We have an update on the spring booster covid vaccination. The government has announced that the eligible groups will be:

1. Residents in care home for older adults

2. Adults aged 75 years and over

3. Aged 5 years and over who are immunosuppressed

Leiston Surgery are going to be providing these boosters for their own patients in these eligible groups over the next few months. We have to deliver the vaccinations in priority order as above and are only given small numbers of vaccine at a time to ensure no wastage. The reception staff will be contacting eligible groups once the vaccine is available.

There is no need to ring the surgery.

After last month's update concerning staff I am pleased to report we have recruited a new GP. Dr Charlotte Ridout is a very experienced local GP and will be working part time with us from April 2023. We are very much looking forward to welcoming her to our team.

Reminder - The safe alcohol limit is 14 units a week for men and women. A unit is the same as half a pint of ordinary strength beer. Each small glass of wine or a pub ‘shot’ of spirits is one and a half units. By drinking to these limits you will reduce your chances of heart disease and some cancers. Invest in your health.