As the new financial year approaches, Sherborne Town Council faces a similar dilemma to every other household and business in the country. How do we improve the life of our beautiful town in the midst of the continuing COVID pandemic, soaring energy costs and steeply rising inflation?
Our answer is to focus above all on the health, wellbeing and resilience of all our community: the people who live and work in Sherborne, the businesses that keep the town thriving and the tourists who visit this special corner of Dorset.
COVID taught us how important green spaces are to our physical and mental health. So we are investing heavily in improving all our parks and sports and leisure spaces. Pageant Gardens is being continually upgraded and we have seen huge improvements to the environment of the Quarr. Work has also begun on the refurbishment of Paddock Gardens.
As one resident told me: “Getting out and about in Sherborne kept me sane during lockdown. I’m so glad I’m not still living in a tiny flat in a London tower block.”
Many thousands of sports fans rely on the Terrace Playing Fields every week of the year. So we’re upgrading the facilities there – including an ambitious plan to install solar energy collectors and heat pumps to replace ageing boilers. Good for the planet, too: one of the council’s many contributions to fighting global warming.
Our allotments also helped keep people healthy, sane and happy during COVID and we plan to protect these precious gardening spaces and create more of them.
After two years of our pandemic recovery fund, we’re still investing in grants for vital community organisations to make sure they survive post-COVID. These clubs and voluntary groups play a crucial role in maintaining mental and social health. Our grants also help support business groups, tourism and thriving town markets.
The impact of the pandemic on the Digby Hall in Hound Street demonstrates how some good can often come out of misfortune. Council income from hall bookings crashed because of lockdown, but that freed up the hall to become the centre of Sherborne’s hugely successful COVID vaccination programme. Congratulations to all the GPs, nurses and volunteers who made it happen so smoothly. Talking of health, Sherborne Town Council is also campaigning to make sure that the Minor Injuries Unit at the Yeatman Hospital reopens as promised after its temporary COVID closure.
Community health is our top priority and I believe our new budget reflects that. The Town Council share of your council tax for 2022-23 will go up by only 5 pence a week for a Band D property. That’s an increase of only 1.25 per cent at a time when national price inflation is threatening to exceed 7 per cent. It’s a recognition of our need to spend our money very wisely in tough times while also supporting the bounce-back-ability of a great town.