Combined March 26 jw v2 - Flipbook - Page 22
Hayling Herald Letters
Will ‘silent majority’ speak up?
Dear Editor,
IN issue 76 of the Herald, Janet Anders, and
Anne Skennerton of Hayling Island Residents
Association (HIRA), gave glowing approval of
parish councils.
However, I would point out that Chorleywood
Parish Council is 3.78 square miles in area (one
third the size of Hayling Island), a large portion
(80 hectares) is grassland and woodland.
The parish has three small community centres,
three allotment sites, one cemetery, and one
closed churchyard to maintain. They contribute
towards two PCSOs, and provide a grant to First
Responders. Public footpaths, like those on Hayling, are maintained by the county council.
They also have 17 councillors (one every 0.222
sq. miles). If the same applied to Hayling we’d
have 54 councillors!
Chorleywood Parish Council Precept (Tax) for
2025/26 is £85.91 (Band D), in addition to District Council Tax of £2,306 (increase of £6.41 or
13.40% from April 2025), Their total Council Tax
being £2,391.91. Council Tax on Hayling (Band
D) is £2,212.89 – £179.02 less. Legally, principal
authorities can only increase Council Tax by
2.99%, or must hold a referendum and vote.
The government, after lobbying by the National Association of Local Councils (NALC), has
exempted parish councils totally from this legal
requirement, until 2029, meaning parish councils
can legally increase the Precept (Council Tax)
charged on households, by any amount over and
above 2.99% - with no referendum or vote. That
is not what I consider democracy.
NALC define the National Average Parish
Council Precept (Tax) as £104.19. This represents
an increase of 4.7% on the overall amount of
Council Tax paid on a Hayling Band D property
– and an increase of 43.45% on the portion of the
Council Tax paid to Havant Borough Council!
The legal process to start the creation of a
parish council only requires 7.5% of registered
Grady's
FAMILY FUNERAL DIRECTORS
electors in the area to sign a petition. That’s 1,411
signatures on Hayling (registered electors =
14,500).
However, the system is hardly democratic, as
no residents get the opportunity to vote on the
matter. You only get a limited opportunity to
make your views known via a survey, and attending a meeting.
Only Havant Borough Council councillors get
to vote on the issue in a Full Council meeting,
and from what I see all the councillors on Hayling appear to favour a parish council, as I expect
will the majority of other Labour and Green
councillors on Havant Borough Council.
So, if the silent majority who don’t want a
parish council and it’s additional expense, remain
silent, we will without doubt get one. Therefore,
if you’re one of the majority who didn’t sign-up
for this, it is imperative that you make your views
heard in the survey and meetings, or a small minority will foist a parish council upon us all.
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