Weymouth and Portland Borough Council often finds itself the victim of poor or inaccurate reporting, leaving residents badly informed. The Not Guilty page will address those inaccuracies and provide you with the facts.
Figures can be interpreted in any number of ways and the figures in the government’s table give an average, including parish precepts for all Band D properties in a district, but that is not what is actually paid. The table below gives the figures for what is actually paid for a band D property in each of these Dorset Towns.
| 2010/11 | |
|---|---|
| Town | £ |
| Dorchester | 1,691.99 |
| Swanage | 1,691.13 |
| Wimborne | 1,686.09 |
| Portland | 1,685.08 |
| Weymouth | 1,676.24 |
| Blandford | 1,663.80 |
| Bridport | 1,652.95 |
Weymouth and Portland Borough Council provides its residents, businesses and visitors with a wide range of services including some that many other authorities don’t provide, such as a working harbour, a theatre, a fully maintained nationally acclaimed beach and over 250 free to attend events for residents.
If comparisons are to be made then they should be on a like for like basis for example comparing Weymouth with Dorchester, Swanage or Wimborne.
Like for like comparisons are in any event impossible because of the different housing profiles between districts. Weymouth & Portland has more properties rated in the lower Bands A and B than other areas, so any given percentage rise in Council Tax will generate less revenue in Weymouth & Portland than the same percentage rise in an area that has predominantly Band C and D properties.
In addition, although the Borough Council collects the Council Tax, we only receive a small proportion and our increase of 2%, our lowest for 14 years, is lower than the increases from Dorset County Council, the Police and the Fire and Rescue Service.The Dorset Echo printed a report with only part of a quote supplied by the Council.
Below is the original quote, which explains the Council's position in full:
Mr and Mrs Burrows have reported large numbers of incidents alleging noise and nuisance from tenants. The Council has provided appropriate and proportionate responses to these allegations; after taking into account the interests and responsibilities to other parties – such as landlords and local taxpayers. The Council’s existing powers relate to intervention if a statutory noise nuisance is involved, regulation of licensed landlords and, in conjunction with the police, actions under anti social legislation. The complainants have been advised of these powers and the evidence needed if these powers are to be used successfully.
Mr and Mrs Burrows complaint that the Council has not acted appropriately has been considered in detail. The Council does not agree with the main elements of the complaint and has set out the reasons in writing. However where individuals are dissatisfied with the Council’s response then they are entitled to refer the matter to the Local Government Ombudsman. Mr and Mrs Burrows have taken this course of action. The Council continues to maintain an open dialogue with the complainants and has spent a significant amount of time working with them in order to reach a satisfactory conclusion.
HMOs make a valuable contribution to the housing supply in the Borough and the Council is currently holding a public consultation in order to help create positive working relationships with landlords in the private rented sector. The consultation contains proposals to improve the provision of decent quality and well managed accommodation, particularly for those in housing need; and to provide better information to landlords and private tenants. This will also help address any concerns that the community may have surrounding Houses of Multiple Occupation. A draft Private Rented Sector Housing Policy has been drawn up, and is available, along with the questionnaire, on the Council’s website: www.weymouth.gov.uk/consultations
The recent announcement that HMOs (Houses in Multiple Occupation) will be brought within the scope of planning legislation is also welcomed.
Recent letters printed in local media have accused the Council of not listening to resident opinions during the debate about the proposals to build a green energy plant at Portland Port.
The Borough Council aims to be as open and transparent as possible. Members of the public are welcome to attend and participate at all Council meetings – this is not a legal requirement and many other authorities do not allow this, but we feel it is important that the community have the opportunity to let elected members know how they feel, particularly when they are about to discuss a particular issue. This is something which the Council considers an important part of the democratic process. When making major decisions that affect residents, where possible the Council will seek resident’s opinions via public consultation, and the results are used to inform members as part of their decision making process.
With reference to the Council’s planning process and the decision reached regarding the green energy plant at Portland Port, the Council has a responsibility to take into consideration evidence both for and against an application. The Planning Committee must however base its decision on planning grounds which are clearly defined within government planning guidance. In this particular case, both those for and those against the application had the opportunity to put forward their views in front of the Planning Committee, who then examined the evidence. The Committee members then debated the application again in front of the public, before reaching their decision based on the planning grounds that had been presented.
Suggestions in the Echo on Tuesday 26 Jan that Weymouth and Portland Borough Council do little for local businesses are being strongly refuted today. The following are examples of support that we currently give to local businesses regarding parking
In addition we help businesses by:
This is just a snapshot of what we do for local businesses.
