PRESS RELEASE: Sevenoaks Town Council increases grant funding to support local voluntary organisations in its Annual Budget
Published: 16 January 2024
For all Councils setting the annual budget with the aim to continue to provide and improve on, where possible, its local services is always a difficult task.
The new Sevenoaks Town Council when considering its budget for 2024 / 2025 wanted to ensure that voluntary groups and organisations within the town, which provide such valuable services, were still able to access grant funding and to increase the budget for this.
At the same time the Town Council wants to continue to deliver services and retain and increase its General Reserves which are vital when needed to support the local community. Many local organisations benefitted from this during Covid.
The Town Council’s Grant Budget for 2024 / 2025 includes the following:
• £15,000 Grants for Local Organisations (increase of 25%)
• £8,000 Youth Grants (increase of 105%)
• £500 Youth Council
• £5,000 Sevenoaks Summer Festival
• £4,000 Greensands Common (new grant)
• £3,000 Darent Valley CRP
• £15,000 West Kent Community – Youth Projects (new grant)
• £27,000 Stag Community Arts Centre
Overall Sevenoaks Town Council has agreed its 2024 / 2025 Precept (council tax) which equates to an increase of 11 pence per week, per average household – see details below.
| | 2023 / 24 | 2024 /25 |
| Precept | £1,370,074 | £1,437,614 |
| Band D Properties | 9,845 | 9,892 |
| Band D (average house) | £139.17 | £145.33 |
| Band D per week | £2.68 | £2.79 |
| % increase to Band D properties | 4.9% | 4.4% |
Councillor Tony Clayton, Leader of Sevenoaks Town Council and Chair of the Finance & General Purposes Committee said: Sevenoaks Town Council will end this financial year on budget, maintaining all its services, supporting the relaunch of Sevenoaks Summer Festival and after investing in a new skate park at Greatness and renovating the toilets at St Johns Hill car park.
In 2024/5 we aim to deliver all our community services, as well as stepping up grant support to the voluntary organisations who do so much for the town. On top of that we will increase our support for young people’s services, to help them as Kent County Council withdraws funding.
One reason the Town Council can do this is because its reserves are now being invested for better returns. But it will need to reflect inflation over the last year, asking residents for an extra 11p per week in council tax for a Band D home.
Charges for sports facilities and community centres will rise by 5% to reflect current increases in costs.
With its finances on a stable footing, the Council will continue to invest in Sevenoaks, mainly using grants and levies on developers. The biggest items in its £2.7 million Community Investment Plan are a new football pavilion at Greatness, switching the No 8 bus route to electric power, a Masterplan for the town’s commercial centres, pedestrian crossings, and other measures to make the town safer for walkers and cyclists.
In the longer-term Sevenoaks Town Council is looking to the Sevenoaks Quarry at Greatness Lakes development. We will use the use developer levies from it to invest for the whole town, and to integrate the residents in the new homes into the community. Building on the Neighbourhood Plan approved in 2023, the plan will shape a safer, greener, and fairer Sevenoaks.”
Linda Larter MBE
Chief Executive / Town Clerk
16th January 2024