Wisbech Town Council is proposing to splash out £70,000 next year to stage events such as the Christmas lights switch on and its summer rock festival – a rise of £40,000 in just three years.
Town clerk Terry Jordan will tell the resources committee on December 9 that the council “has a long-stated ambition to make its programme of community events and festivals bigger and better each year.
“However, it is not possible to achieve such an ambition without making available the necessary financial resources”.
He adds: “That is why the budget provision for 2022/23 had been increased (from £30,000 in 2021/22) to £40,000.
“In the budget for 2024/25 that figure had been increased to £50,000. In the initial draft budget for the financial year 2025/26 that figure is increased to £70,000.”
The council this year, he says, he delivered
1: Wisbech Rose Fair on 29 June 2024
2: WisBEACH Rock Festival (a combination of WisBEACH Day and the Wisbech Rock Festival) on 4 August 2024
3: Christmas Lights Switch-on event on 1 December 2024
It will also be organising the Wisbech Unsung Heroes Awards ceremony on 25 January 2025. This aims to recognise those townspeople “who go the extra mile for their community”. Nominations opened on 21 October and closed today (6 December).
Those short shortlisted will be invited to a presentation evening on 25 January 2025.
However, Mr Jordan says a draft budget has been prepared to ensure no increase in the town precept for 2025/26.
He said he has “been mindful of members’ desire to minimise the financial impact upon households of any increase in the parish precept and has, where possible/feasible, retained income and expenditure figures for 2025/26 at the 2024/25 levels”.
One area where income will rise is from the council’s allotment following a decision by the environment and public spaces committee to increase allotment fees from 6.0 pence to 12.0 pence per square metre per annum with effect from October 2025.
“Consequently, income from this source is anticipated to increase by around £7,000,” he says.
The council has a waiting list and those neglecting their allotments have had their leases terminated.
In October the council was told all allotment sites are now full and, to try to reduce waiting times for a plot, only 3 preferences for a site are being taken.
New deal with town council will help Wisbech museum stay afloat
The environment and public spaces committee had decided that, in future, whilst waiting lists are being operated, the council would accept applications for allotment tenancies only from residents of the parish of Wisbech.
And they would restrict applications to one per household; any non-parishioners who had already been accepted onto a waiting list would, however, not be removed.
The committee agreed also that the allotment rent concession (whereby persons aged 60 years and above can apply for a 25% discount on the level of rent that they pay) be no longer offered to tenants, except for those who are currently in receipt of that concession.
And because of complaints received regarding unauthorised burning of household items on certain allotments sites, the committee decided that the lighting of bonfires at allotment sites be no longer allowed.
Any tenant who lights a bonfire on an allotment plot will be deemed to have breached the tenancy agreement.
A council report noted that “the banning of bonfires has proved controversial with some tenants but, in the main, has been accepted”.
With regard to Wisbech Castle, councillors will hear that “it has been possible to increase the estimated annual income (due mainly to its success as a venue for paranormal investigations) for 2025/26 and to maintain the estimated expenditure at the same level as within the 2024/25 budget.
“The latter situation is possible because the day-to-day operation of Wisbech Castle is undertaken by volunteers (free-of-charge to the council).
“The estimates of income and expenditure for the financial year 2025/26 show Wisbech Castle generating an operational surplus (of £2,000); consequently, having no financial impact upon the local taxpayers.
“This was the council’s ambition when taking-on Wisbech Castle in 2018”.
However, the council is still going ahead with cutting its financial support to the Wisbech and Fenland Museum and for 2025/26 this has been reduced from £17,500 to £15,000.
The museum, which has received £20,000 each year since 2017 from the town council, has agreed a deal whereby the town council will still support the museum but the £20,000 grant previously paid will reduce to £17,500, and there will be a further reduction of £2,500 each year from then down to zero.
