By Andrew Topping, Local Democracy Reporter
Nottinghamshire County Council Leader and Mansfield MP Ben Bradley has launched a survey asking Warsop residents whether they think they get “value for money” from the parish council.
Mr Bradley (Con), published the survey last week with Warsop county councillor Bethan Eddy (Con) asking whether residents know what they get from the additional council tax bill.
He says they are not “desperately seeking a particular outcome” from the survey, but believes there is scope for potentially dissolving the authority amid the ongoing cost of living crisis.
Parish councils are small authorities covering areas within larger districts, with extra council taxes paid to the authorities to fund projects and facilities.
Their powers include looking after community buildings, open spaces, allotments, play areas, street lighting, bus shelters and car parks.
Band A homes in Warsop pay £22.85 more in council tax than those in similar properties elsewhere in the district, with band D homes paying the authority £34.31 more.
And a leading Warsop parish councillor has defended the authority, saying the council spends its small budget “very wisely” each year.
But Cllr Bradley believes it could be unfair for residents in the parish to pay more taxes than people living in Mansfield Woodhouse and other parts of the town.
“Every year I get residents asking ‘why do I pay this, what services do I get?’,” the MP told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
“It’s an interesting question,” he added.
“It comes with an extra tax and it’s about whether people feel they get a better service as a result of that – or whether they don’t see the value for that money.
“It’s at a time when we look at cost of living challenges and prices going up – if there’s a way we can save people money then it’s worth exploring.
“We’re asking the question but we’re not desperately seeking a particular outcome.”
He adds they will “wait and see what residents’ views are”, but says early indications from the survey suggest residents are “marginally in favour of saying it’s not good value for money”.
The survey has been shared by Cllr Phil Shields (Ind), who represents Netherfield – a ward within the Warsop parish on Mansfield District Council.
Cllr Shields plans to launch his own survey on the issue, saying it’s a “coincidence” that he is asking similar questions, but says he broadly supports the meaning behind Cllr Bradley’s poll.
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I’ve been asked on numerous occasions by people in Meden Vale ‘why do we pay more council tax than other properties in Mansfield, and what do we get for that money?’.
“I’m really not bothered whether Warsop has a parish council or doesn’t, that’s not the point of the exercise, it’s more getting residents’ views on it and doing what the residents want.
“I’m doing what’s right for my ward and for my residents in Meden Vale.”
But Cllr Andy Burgin (Lab), vice-chair of the parish council, has defended the authority’s role and believes the survey is a “political stunt”.
He says the parish council has frozen its precepts for 2022/23 alongside the freeze at Mansfield District Council.
And he adds the council does “a lot” with the additional taxes paid by Warsop homes.
Cllr Burgin, who also represents Warsop Carrs on Mansfield District Council, said: “For the small amount of money the council gets each year we spend it very wisely putting on events and supporting community groups.
“There’s a lot we do and I think most people in Warsop are appreciative of that.
“We’ve got the town hall which hosts a police office, we have charities working out of there, and in the grand scheme of things, the money we have to spend is very small in the context of local authority budgets.
“I believe this is a smokescreen to Ben putting county council tax up. The increase alone is double what we charge at the parish council.
“It’s in some ways a political stunt and it’s very disappointing.”
