At the December 2025 Bethersden Parish Council meeting, councillors agreed to request a £79,000 precept from Ashford Borough Council for the coming year.This represents a 20.1% increase on the previous year’s precept.
However, in practical terms for residents, this equates to around £17 extra per year for a Band D household.
The funding will support the parish council’s ongoing running costs such as:
- * Maintaining the beautiful environment of the George Field
- * Maintaining the environment, access and usability of the Recreation Ground
- * Keeping the War Memorial in a fit state for those it remembers
Whilst also enabling several important improvements and forward-planning initiatives within the village.
Key areas of investment will include:
- Play Area Maintenance: Increased funding is needed as the timber trail in the play area has begun to deteriorate and is becoming unsafe. The additional budget will allow the council to overhaul and maintain this much-used facility for local families. This will sit alongside the children’s new playground that was so successfully and substantially upgraded last year with very many positive comments from local families. Further work is also needed to upgrade parts of the pavilion after last year’s discovery of traces of asbestos. This was swiftly removed but usability needs to be reinstated.
- Professional Fees: A higher allocation has been set aside to support planned work relating to local housing needs, ensuring the parish can properly assess and respond to future development and community requirements. As part of ABC’s ongoing/current Local Plan process, new housing development will be presented within a wide range of potential development sites. The Parish Council currently considers whether each “earmarked site” will require a professional planning-based assessment to ascertain whether there will be any defensible grounds to oppose the developments with any degree of confidence.
- Office Technology Improvements: A modest increase in office costs will enable the purchase of more up-to-date technology. This will allow councillors to access information online more efficiently, reducing reliance on physical mailbox storage and lowering long-term printing costs.
- Inflation Adjustments: Several budget lines have also been increased to reflect rising costs and ensure services can continue to be delivered effectively.
The council believes these measures will help maintain essential services while investing in facilities and planning that support the long-term wellbeing of the Bethersden community.