Impasse on paying for parishes
A TEMPORARY deadlock has been reached over the thorny issue of how parish councils should be funded. Parishes such as Teston andNettlestead do
not yet want any further changes to the concurrent functions grant that Maidstone Borough Council has paid to them for many years. ButMBC is adamant that a serv-
ice level agreement (SLA) should replace the current system, which is based on a per capita formula. That grant was cut by 30% this
year. The borough, under severe financial constraints, had origi- nally wanted to do away with the grant completely but bowed to pressure from the parishes. The
MAIDSTONE is the first destination in the South East to have a visitor guide application for smart- phones. The app provides an interac-
borough also agreed to a comprehensive re- view of the funding process. However, the review group has failed to make the hoped-for progress. This was re-
MAIDSTONE Borough Council’s total budget for concurrent functions grant in 2010-11 was £424,000 for the 35 parishes. The level of grant paid to parishes ranged from £3,521 (East Sutton) to £47,011 (Boxley), with an average of £12,105. The formula used was a fixed amount to each parish (£2,261) plus a per capita payment of £6 based on the elec- toral register. The grant’s main purpose is to avoid “double taxation” where the costs of a certain service are charged twice to local taxpayers because the parish provides a service but the bor- ough still charges parishioners (via its universal council tax) for the equivalent services it provides in unparished areas.
Town tourism gets more app-ealing The app will be available for
tive guide to the town and sur- rounding areas. You can search for: What’s on – more than 200 events at any time, regularly updated Food and drink –more
than 200 restaurants, pubs, tea- rooms and takeaways Places to visit – from cas-
tles and gardens, to walks Where to stay – more than
65 hotels, B&Bs, self-catering and camping.
the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Search for ‘Maidstone’ on iTunes or the App Store. Cllr Malcolm Greer, Cabinet member for transport and eco- nomic development, said: “This app has rich content and high resolution images that provide opening times, prices and grading of accom- modation. “It will provide directions
using your iPhone’s GPS and Google maps. You can save places of interest and build your own itinerary.” In 2009,Maidstone attracted
more than 3.3 million day trips and over
417,000 overnight trips, ac- cording to a study into the economic impact of tourism. Visitor Economy Business
Unit leader Laura Dickson said: “The app uses the same data information system that fulfils the content of our web- site –
www.visitmaidstone. com. This is part of the strat- egy to provide in-destination visitor information.” To find out more, or to get
your business an enhanced profile on the app and website, call 01622 602748 or email
tourism@maidstone.gov.uk.
ported to an extraordinary meeting of the Kent Association of Local Councils (KALC), attended by representatives of two- dozen councils at Maidstone Town Hall. The meeting heard talks had broken down because the Cabinet member for community services, Cllr John Wilson, insisted there was no alternative to a proposed parish services scheme – an SLA between Maidstone and the parishes. KALC secretary Cllr Clive Eng-
lish described the proposed SLA as “incredibly bureaucratic” and also excluded “huge swathes” of what is covered at present by con- current functions.
Parish representatives de-
cided it would be premature to introduce an SLA given its com- plexity, the need to clarify nu- merous issues and the as-yet unknown ramifications of Gov- ernment plans for local author- ity funding and its localism agenda. Themeeting agreed that it did
not rule out the concept of an SLA but wished to see the ex- isting concurrent functions scheme continue for 2012-13. It was further resolved that, in
the interim, a pilot study should be conducted with the help of Bredhurst and Staplehurst parish councils.
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