RESIDENTS in Haydon Wick will see their precept increase by 50 per cent as the parish seeks to make up for a loss in council funding and to implement ambitious plans to improve parish facilities.

The Haydon Wick Parish Council held a budget meeting on Tuesday in which councillors laid out their financial plans for the coming year.

The precept for 2017/18 was set at £50.55. It was stressed that although the figure is a 50 per cent increase on the previous year, it is still substantially less than other parishioners across Swindon will be paying.

Stratton St. Margaret, for example, agreed a 27 per cent increase, which will result in a precept of £168.

Linda Brown, chairman of the Haydon Wick Parish Council, said: "The councillors are pleased to be able to continue in 2017/18 with the provision of good quality services with only a small increase to the precept of £4.57 for the base budget.

“This has given us the opportunity to take on board some of the requests received from residents for additional improvements to the services and facilities in the parish. While this will add an additional £12.50 to the precept, it underlines the commitment of the councillors to listen and react positively to the needs of the area.

“With a precept of £50.55 for the year it is less than £1 per week for the average home and is well under the estimations made by various persons over the last year of parish precepts in Swindon being in excess of £76."

The parish is having to deal with a reduction in transitional funding from the Borough Council on top of a cut in the Council Tax Support Grant – a combined shortfall of almost £59,000.

A range of new projects are set to be completed in the coming year, including the refurbishment of the parish’s play areas, the upkeep of bus shelters and the maintenance of various footpath signs.

Councillors hope to improve three play areas each year, which will require an annual budget of £70,000. This represents the biggest increase in the projects at £7.81 for the year.

Terry Powell, clerk to the parish council said: “While the new Haydon Wick precept will be £50.55, this is still far short of the predicted £76 plus precept for parishes in Swindon from April 2017. It represents the excellent level of service provided in Haydon Wick by the parish council.”