Council Agrees to Set Up Open Spaces Team

06 Sep Council Agrees to Set Up Open Spaces Team

At its meeting on 2^nd September, the Council agreed how it will manage the open spaces it will be taking over from Somerset Council in April 2025.

The Council will be taking a blended approach with the bulk of everyday work being undertaken by an in-house team and specialist work e.g. tree work being contracted out.

The new Town Council team will consist of three members of staff which could potentially increase to four, should the work require it.  The Council agreed to buy or lease the necessary vehicles and machinery, and any other equipment required to deliver the open spaces service. It will also be looking to set up a depot for the team to use as a base and for storage.

The set-up costs of the team of approximately £122,000 will be funded through a budget the Council set aside at the beginning of this financial year. The annual ongoing costs of running an in-house team and contracting out specialist services will be in the region of £377,500 a year although there is still scope to reduce that cost. The ongoing costs will be met through the Precept.  The impact of this on the Precept will be finalised over the next couple of months as the Council sets its budget for 2025/6 where it will consider whether existing budgets could be used to offset some of this additional cost.  However, if costs stay as they are it would increase the Band D amount by around £1.27 per week. Many houses in Wellington would pay less than that.

By delivering services in this way, the Council will be able to deliver the same service that Somerset Council has offered but cheaper saving the community of Wellington in the region of £40,000 a year, potentially more by the time running costs are finalised.  This cost saving is based on quotations from Somerset Council for carrying out the works required and charging the Town Council for that work.

By having an in-house team, it will enable the Council to have a tighter control on the quality of work being undertaken, be more responsive to local need, more flexible in the way it carries out its work and enable it to take on other work open spaces work like the management of open spaces on new developments in the town and in other places.

Mayor Janet Lloyd said ‘this is an historic decision for the Town Council as we prepare to take on responsibility for managing the open spaces in our town. Whilst we recognise the significant costs involved in this, I am confident that the community will see the benefits of this decision for years to come.  People have already seen the benefits of us employing our own Community Warden and this decision will enable us to do even more to improve our town.’

The report setting out the basis of the decision is published with the Full Council agenda and minutes for 2^nd September which you can view here.