What is a precept?

Each year in January, the City of Durham Parish must decide its budget for the forthcoming financial year and submit a precept request to Durham County Council. The Precept is a tax that Parish Council’s charge their local electors to meet their budget requirements. Parish Councils do not receive any direct funding from central government and rely on their Precept plus any other income they generate from services or facilities they provide. The Parish Council Precept is part of the Council Tax and is collected from local electors via their Council Tax payments.

How is it Calculated?

The Precept requirement is the difference between the Parish Council’s estimated income and its anticipated spending requirements for the financial year (its budget). The financial year runs from 1st April to 31st March. The Parish Council needs to agree a budget before it can set its Precept and both must be agreed by the full Parish Council.

When calculating the Precept, the City of Durham Parish Council takes into consideration:

– current year’s spending levels – for ongoing services for which it is responsible e.g. recreation facilities, lighting, cemeteries, insurance and cost of the Parish Office
– costs of any additional spending plans or projects
– provision for contingencies and reserves
– levels of anticipated income – from services for which it is responsible e.g. rental income, allotment fees, burial fees, grants

Currently there is no cap on the amount that Parish Councils can raise via their precept (District
Councils and County Councils are capped at 4.99%). Parish Councils should be able to explain and justify larger precept increases.

Tax base and Band D equivalent

Part of the Precept Calculation is the ‘Band D equivalent’. Band D is the middle band of Council Tax and is supposed to represent the amount of Council Tax paid on an average property in the area. Council Tax base is calculated by taking the number of houses in the City of Durham Parish Council area, allocating a weight to them based on their council tax banding and adding up the total of the weighted households. For example, higher council tax band properties carry a higher weighting and lower council tax base properties carry a lower council tax weighting. The Council Tax Base can therefore fluctuate from year to year based on the number of properties in each area. For example, council tax base will increase if any new houses have been built and the occupants have started to pay council tax but may decrease if for example any houses have been demolished in an area or have changed their use from Use Class C3 to Use Class C4 or sui generis (non-tax paying Use Classes).

City of Durham Parish Council budgets and precept

Financial year 2023/24
City of Durham Parish Council budget 2023-24
Total precept and charge by Council tax band 2023-24

Financial year 2022/23
City of Durham Parish Council budget 2022-23
Total precept and charge by Council tax band 2022-23

Financial year 2021/22
City of Durham Parish Council budget 2021-22
Total precept and charge by Council tax band 2021-22

This year, the City of Durham Parish Council will once again be organising and judging the Durham City ‘Best Christmas Business Frontage Competition’. The competition aims to add an extra level of sparkle to Durham City during the festive season and hopes to promote businesses in the City of Durham Parish area as a whole to shoppers and visitors of our great City. The winner of each of the business categories will win a prize of £500.

Eligibility

Any business within Durham City and which has indicated that they wish to take part in the competition by completing and returning the application form is eligible to take part in this year’s competition. Please complete this application form and return it to us via email at parishclerk@cityofdurham-pc.gov.uk by 5pm on 6th December 2022.

Judging and Judging Criteria

The window display that is judged must be the same as the display that will continue to be in the business window(s) throughout the Christmas period.

The competition is between individual businesses in each of the following categories:

• an independent business;
• a chain store;
• an indoor market stall; or
• a non-retail business

Whilst businesses may choose to adopt a theme of their own, it is individual business displays that will be judged.

We will judge against the following criteria:

• Innovation and creativity. How new or different is the window display?
• Spirit of Christmas and festivity. How well does the display convey the ‘Spirit of Christmas’ and a festive message?
• Merchandising (not included in the non-retail category) how well does the business show case its merchandise to shoppers.
• Overall impression and visual impact. E.g. how well is the window lit up?

Judges will award up to 5 points for each of the criteria (a total of 20 for independent business, a chain store, an indoor market stall and 15 for the non-retail business). Judges will work together and will agree the score against each criterion and therefore the total score. The highest score from each of the business categories will win a £500 prize.

Judging

Judging will take on Thursday 8th December from 2pm so please have your windows complete by this time. The results will be announced on Friday 9th December 2022.

Awards Presentation

The Awards presentation will take place at the City of Durham Parish Council Christmas Civic event at Durham Town Hall on Monday 12th December between 6:30pm and 10pm. All winning businesses in each category will receive an invitation to the awards ceremony with further details after the final judging.

The City of Durham Parish Council is here to represent all residents of our community – whether student residents or year-round permanent residents – we are here to support all of our neighbours.

The Parish Council has been shocked to see the scenes of students queuing outside estate agents in the City in the desperate hopes of securing accommodation for next academic year. The scenes have hit national headlines and are a cause of great concern to us all.

The City of Durham Parish Council will be writing to Durham University, Durham Students Union, Durham County Council and the local Member of Parliament to seek an urgent meeting to try and resolve these issues.

No individual or organisation should rush to the conclusion that this housing crisis is caused as a result of a lack of private-rented HMOs in the City. Indeed, the statistics below show otherwise and in fact we have seen outlying areas of the City also experience an increase in private student accommodation. A statement last month from the University that there had actually been a reduction in private-rented accommodation in the City has no basis in fact and has yet to be retracted.

Be in no doubt that this issue is caused primarily as a result of landlords releasing their properties into the market almost immediately and the University’s obsession with an unsustainable expansion policy, which is driving permanent long-term residents out of the City. This expansion policy is in no way accommodation-led and the University’s aims of having 50% of students ‘living-in’ University accommodation is nowhere near to being achieved.

The Parish Council is calling on the University to move forward urgently with the six PBSAs it promised the residents of Durham at the Examination in Public into the County Durham Plan in 2020 and to make these affordable. It is deeply concerning to see the proposed accommodation places in these PBSAs slowly falling by the wayside; with the numbers at James Barber House already being reduced and a planning application for an independently funded PBSA at Mount Oswald to house 850 students, which was submitted two years ago, has not progressed since June 2021.

The crippling and exploitative costs of College accommodation is also pushing students into the Durham housing stock and it is time for the University to take action on this and put people ahead of profit.

The stress and mental strain this must all be causing our student residents is appalling.

Stats on private-rented student lets in DH1 as of April 2022:

The City of Durham Parish Council has today launched a consultation with local residents seeking their views on priorities for the forthcoming financial year.

The City of Durham Parish Council’s activities are funded by a precept which forms part of your council tax. Each year since 2018, the Parish Council has opted to freeze the annual Parish Council precept charge at £34.87 (Band D) – one of the lowest in the entire County. This budget was originally allocated to us by the County Council upon our formation following a referendum of residents.

The City of Durham Parish Council represents a wide geographical area from Akyley Heads down to Burn Hall which includes the electoral wards of Elvet and Gilesgate, Neville’s Cross and Durham South.
To help deliver services for local residents, the Parish Council has established a number of Committees, each with a specific area of focus. These include: a Planning Committee (representing the parish on all planning matters and delivering a Neighbourhood Plan for our community), an Environment Committee (delivering a cleaner and greener community), a Licensing Committee (representing the parish on all licensing matters), a Finance Committee (ensuring the delivery of cost-effective services and advising the Parish Council on grant allocations to local voluntary and community organisations) and a Business Committee (supporting businesses and promoting Durham city as a place to visit and shop).

We would like to hear your views on what the Parish Council has already achieved, what you would like us to do more of and what we can do differently, for example, an enhanced late-night neighbourhood policing and safeguarding service for our area. We would like to know your views as to whether you would be willing to pay a slightly increased precept to deliver these additional services.

Local residents know that the Parish Council will always act wherever it can to address their issues and concerns. Please take a moment to complete the survey below and let us hear your views on this proposal. Together, we want to preserve and improve our community for years to come.

City of Durham Parish Council consultation

The deadline to respond to this consultation is 17th November 2022.

Councillor Alan Doig
Chair of the City of Durham Parish Council

The City of Durham Parish Council has responded to the County Council’s consultation on a draft ASB Strategy produced by the Safe Durham Partnership.

The Safe Durham Partnership (SDP) has worked to prevent and tackle ASB, since its formation in 2009, and is continually reviewing the way in which it achieves this goal. The SDP has been working with partners to develop a draft strategy which outlines a proposed approach to tackling ASB over the next three years.

Further details about this public consultation can be found here:
https://www.durham.gov.uk/article/28103/Consultation-on-draft-strategy-to-tackle-anti-social-behaviour

Ahead of responding to the consultation, the Parish Council consulted members of its Community Residents Association Forum (CRAF). A full copy of the Parish Council’s response to this consultation can be found here

The closing date for comments on this consultation is 11.59pm on Sunday 13 November 2022.

The feedback from the consultation will be considered and the strategy will be updated before it is agreed and adopted by the Safe Durham Partnership in the new year. An action plan will then be developed based round each of the eight principles.

A hand-crafted mosaic by a local artist has been donated by the City of Durham Parish Council to NHS staff in Durham in recognition of their extraordinary work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Artist Susan Warlock spent 8-10 hours a day for 18 days to hand craft The Tree of Life Mosaic which has been unveiled in the main entrance at University Hospital of North Durham for visitors, patients and staff to enjoy.

Chair of the City of Durham Parish Council’s Environment Committee Coun. Carole Lattin (pictured) said: “The Parish Council is delighted to be donating this magnificent tree of life mosaic to the University Hospital of North Durham as a very small thank you to its amazing staff who worked, sacrificed and saved soo many lives during the pandemic. The tree of life offers a message of hope to everyone, and I hope that staff and patients appreciate this as they attend the hospital”.

She added: “We were delighted to commission the services of talented local artist Susan Warlock who produced this mosaic for us. Her breath-taking work can be seen in Wharton Park as well as the hospital. We thank her enormously for producing something so beautiful”

Speaking about the generous donation, Trust Chairman, Professor Paul Keane OBE said: “This is an amazing piece of work by Susan that we are so grateful to accept from her and the City of Durham Parish Council. The COVID-19 pandemic has been incredibly difficult for our Trust colleagues who have been on the front of it, our patients and visitors to our hospitals. This beautiful tree of life mosaic signifies hope and reflection and certainly brightens up the entrance to the hospital – thank you.”

Susan created the mosaic to feature a tree of life to symbolise a message of hope and to be life affirming. She has two sisters who work for the NHS and her daughter is a consultant in Australia and was thrilled to be commissioned to produce this labour of love as a thank you to the NHS.

Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Medical Director Jeremy Cundall added: “We are hugely grateful to the City of Durham Parish Council and talented artist Susan Warlock for this wonderful piece of artwork which is such a generous donation. Colleagues have been sharing positive feedback since it was installed at the entrance to University Hospital of North Durham which can be enjoyed by all who pass through our doors.”

The mosaic was officially unveiled by Trust Chairman, Professor Paul Keane OBE, Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Medical Director Jeremy Cundall, Executive Director of Nursing Noel Scanlon, artist Susan Warlock and representatives from City of Durham Parish Council on Friday 21 October 2022.

Susan Warlock said: “When I was commissioned by the City of Durham Parish Council to create this artwork, I wanted it to be something that would be life affirming and positive and something which would lift the spirits of people who see it as they enter the hospital, I hope it is also seen as a memorial for all those who have lost their lives to covid. “

Preparations for Durham’s annual Remembrance Parade are well underway, with hundreds of serving members of the Armed Forces expected to arrive from all parts of the UK for this great event.

The parade is once again organised by the City of Durham Parish Council and will be led by the Band and Bugles of Durham Army Cadet Force which will lead a strong detachment from our county Regiment the Rifles proud successors to the Light Infantry and the Durham Light Infantry.

This year’s parade will march past the memorial to the Victoria Cross holders of the Durham Light Infantry to pay respects those great heroes of Durham.

The heavy drill elements of the parade which will feature some 200 plus troops will be led by two Cavalry regiments, the Light Dragoons and Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeth’s Own).

Also included in the heavy drill elements of the Army will be the Royal Army Medical Corps, Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers and the Royal Military Police.

The civilian services which will include nurses, prison officers, paramedics, police officer and fire service Standard Bearers from throughout the UK, will be led by the Durham Constabulary Brass Band and Durham University Brass Band.

The parade will march through the Market Place at approximately 11:20am on Sunday 13th November and the Salute will be taken by Mrs Sue Snowdon His Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant for County Durham.

In addition to the Remembrance Sunday activities, Durham City will gather in the Market Place on 11th November – Armistice Day – at 11:00am, where wreaths will be placed at the Durham Light Infantry Memorial statue.

Chair of the City of Durham Parish Council’s Business Committee, Coun. Elizabeth Scott said: “Durham has an incredible history of armed forces service and this Remembrance Day, the Parish Council is exceptionally keen to play its part in ensuring that we do everything we can to commemorate the sacrifices made by that brave generation. We are delighted to once again take on the civic duty of hosting this important event this year and I hope that all of County Durham can come together and pay our respects at this event.”

The people of Durham are invited to witness the Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday parade and cheer on His Majesty’s forces past, present and future.

A message from Durham County Council via the Community Champions Project

The cost of living continues to put financial pressure on many of our residents. With this in mind, I would like to remind you of the services to which your teams can signpost residents to for help and support. I would ask that you please share this information with your services, include in your newsletters and discuss at your team meetings – it’s important that this information is cascaded throughout the Council and also to our wider partners, anyone you may work with or speak to who is facing financial difficulties and encourage them to seek help as soon as possible.

We have recently received a further allocation of £4.6m from the Government’s Household Support Fund. This will be used to support residents between 1 October 2022 and 31 March 2023. We will continue to work with our partners to provide support to households in need, particularly those struggling with the cost of energy. The fund can also be used to support with costs associated with food, energy and water bills and wider essentials. In cases of genuine emergency, it can also be used to help with housing costs. If you are aware of anyone who is struggling with these essentials, please encourage them to contact us.

Applications for the council tax energy rebate payment have now closed. However, a large number of households who receive Council Tax Reduction have not yet applied for the rebate. Where this is the case, we have credited their council tax account with £150. We would encourage any household that has not yet applied for this support to contact our customer services team on 03000 26 0000 or by emailing help@durham.gov.uk so we can process this payment. When visiting a client, please ask if they have received their council tax energy rebate and signpost them to our customer services team if not.

We continue to update our information as things change to make it as easy as possible for anyone experiencing financial difficulty to access the information and support, they need. The most up to date information can be found on our Help with your money page on our website. We have also printed a quantity of financial support leaflets which have been circulated to libraries, leisure centres and our partners to ensure information is available to all residents.

All households will receive a £400 discount this winter to help with their rising energy bills. The government has now confirmed that support equivalent to this amount will also be available for households who will not be reached through the Energy Bills Support Scheme, including those that do not have a domestic electricity meter and heat network consumers on a private wire system. More detailed information on how residents can save on their energy bills can be found on our help with your heating page and energy bills web page. There is also more information in the winter edition of our Durham County News magazine, which will be distributed to residents in November. Meanwhile, those entitled to the winter fuel payment will receive an extra £300 from November 2022.

Further information on the support outlined above can be found here Cost of Living Payment – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Our Welfare Rights Team can help by offering benefit checks to ensure people are claiming all the support they are entitled to and support those faced with difficulties when claiming benefits. The team also produces factsheets on benefits and their advice line number is 03000 268 968. Please also remind residents that our customer services team can help complete forms or access online information in relation to financial support

If someone has immediate short term needs or needs help to maintain their independence in the community, they may be able to get support through the council’s Welfare Assistance Scheme.

Residents struggling with debt can access a free-to-use MoneyHelper service. Residents can also find further debt advice on our website, including details of organisations in Durham and their areas of specialism.

We are working with NEfirst Credit Union to promote affordable loans and a cashback loan scheme for the purchase of furniture and white goods to support residents who don’t qualify for our Welfare Assistance Scheme.

We are also working alongside the County Durham Community Foundation to offer funding to the voluntary and community sector to create a network of warm spaces where people can get warm. Both the council and CDCF are contributing to the funding, with £200,000 available to support premises, with a grant of up to £1,000 for their warm space offer. Once confirmed, residents will be able to access a directory at Durham Locate. Further information on the warm spaces network can be found here: Warm spaces – Durham County Council

Finally, County Durham Fire and Rescue Service is also reminding people to ensure they have working smoke alarms and to check these are working each week. For any household that has a heating appliance which doesn’t run off electricity, the fire service recommends installing a carbon monoxide alarm. Regular services should be carried out on boilers and gas appliances and households should also ensure they use the correct fuel for woodburning stoves and open fires to reduce the risk of toxic fumes, chimney fires and carbon monoxide poisoning.