Council tax hike to help fund new police comms
NORTH Wales’ police and crime commissioner is asking council tax payers to stump up an extra 5.14% on the police precept from April.
Last year’s increase was 4.89% and the request for extra funds this year is partly due to a £750,000 investment in an upgraded communication system being rolled out across the UK, the Emergency Service Network (ESN).
The annual cost of administering the ESN from 2023-24 will be a little over £1.3m and the system will provide a one-stop IT solution for officers on the beat, which will replace the Airwave system.
It is designed to cut down on form-filling and can be loaded on to laptops and mobile phones – even allowing officers to check fingerprints.
The panel had resolved in December to contact the Home Office “regarding the costings and technology relating to the ESN programme”.
Last year, Capita secured a five-year contract worth £788,000 to deliver IT systems to North Wales Fire and Rescue Service so it could move to the ESN system.
Committee member Cllr Dana Davies said it was important to point out the increase was the same as last year but with inflation and contribution to the ESN on top.
The total precept increase is £14.94 per year and means the policing portion of council tax rises to £305.55 per household from April, contributing £89.7m (51.73%) to the PCC’s overall budget of £173.4m.
Operation Uplift, a central government plan to increase numbers of officers across England and Wales, will see a further 62 officers taken on in 2021-22 and another 140 over the life of the scheme. It also emerged that because of reduced funding and other pressures the force’s budget had been slashed by more than £35m over the past decade.
There would be no pay rise for officers in the coming year but the medium-term plan for the following years assumed a 2.5% rise. The plan also set assumed police precept rises of £12 per year on council tax bills for the following four years after 2021-22 – between 3.93% and 3.51%.
PLANS to restore a fire-ravaged Gwynedd pub have been given the green light by national park planners.
A fierce blaze in October 2018 devastated the Rhiw Goch Inn near Trawsfynydd, destroying large parts of the 16th century Grade II listed building.
But the new proposals, which have been approved by Snowdonia National Park planning officers, would see the pub rebuilt, including three holiday lets.
The development, according to the planning documents, will result in 12 full-time jobs
The supporting documents say: “The fire is thought to have originated in the kitchen which is located in the part of the building extended in the late 1930s, and was caused as a result of a fault with an electric heater. The fire spread rapidly causing extensive damage to all areas, with exception of the bee holes and gatehouse.
“The current property owner appreciates despite the extent of fire damage that a lot of the important features detailed within the Listed Building description survive.
“The owner’s proposals therefore, look to enhance and preserve these features. Externally, the fire offers the opportunity to enhance the building’s significance, through repair using historic materials and techniques.”
Having been approved by officers without the need to go in front of the park authority’s planning committee, it’s proposed to relocate the bar area and provide three self contained short-term holiday lets. Among the conditions are that all roof coverings are covered with blue grey Cwt y Bugail natural mineral slates, or those of equivalent colour.