Precept

About the Precept

The Council’s main income is by way of a Parish Rate (officially called a precept), which is a charge on each household in the Parish.  To calculate how much precept is required, the parish council must set its Budget for the next financial year.  This process is usually commenced in October and completed by December in each year.

2026-27 Budget/Precept statement

The precept demand for 2026/27 is £117,220.00  The amount charged to householders varies according to the Band in which the dwelling is placed for Council Tax purposes.  For a dwelling in Category D (the average) the Parish Rate for 2026-27 is £34.96 per annum, a £3.17 increase from last year.

For those living in dwellings in Band A to C it will be slightly less and those who live in band E to H it will be slightly more. The actual charge for your dwelling will be shown on your Council Tax bill when they are issued by WMDC in late March.

Parish Councils are the cheapest form of local government. They receive no government grants, so they have every incentive to keep expenditure low.

Crigglestone Parish is a Civil Parish as opposed to an Ecclesiastical Parish. It is an independent local democratic unit serving an area covering Crigglestone, Calder Grove, Chapelthorpe, Durkar, Hall Green, Hollingthorpe, Newmillerdam and Painthorpe.  It has 11 (eleven) seats.  Parish Councillors are elected representatives of the community and are not paid. They are elected every four years. The last election was held on 4th May 2023 with next elections scheduled for May 2027.

The Parish Council meets on the first Tuesday of each month (except August – no meeting, or where otherwise notified) in the Village Institute, High Street, Crigglestone at 6.00pm.  The public are welcome at these meetings and can speak on issues/concerns they may have in the 15 minute public session held at the beginning of the meeting, (please arrive in readiness for a prompt 6.00pm start).

Parish Councils have become more important because District Councils have become larger and more remote. The Parish Council works hard to improve the area in any way open to them. It tries to protect the area by carefully scrutinising all planning applications and by encouraging Action Groups to join with it to campaign against proposals which may badly affect the Parish area.

The Council also makes grants to organisations for specific projects.

Remembering that Parish Councillors are unpaid elected representatives and know the area very well, they act as a body to represent the views of people in the Parish too, not only the District Council but the Health Authority, Public Utilities and other Government departments.