Transfer and devolvement of assets and services to Prestbury Parish Council

“Empowering communities” or “an unwanted burden”?

There are some important changes being proposed by Cheshire East Council which will affect residents in the parish of Prestbury. Prestbury Parish Council would like to draw your attention to what these changes are and begin to gauge your opinion before any decisions are made.
What is being proposed?
Across the UK, local authorities are encouraging town and parish councils to take on the ownership and responsibility for various assets and services. Our principal authority, Cheshire East, is no exception .

Why is Cheshire East proposing to transfer / devolve assets and services to Prestbury Parish Council?
The background to this has roots in the ‘Big Society’, empowering local communities and the Localism Bill which is currently going through Parliament.
Some have suggested that this proposal is also about cost cutting. Like many other principal authorities, Cheshire East is facing significant financial challenges (a 25% cut in Government grants over the next four years, the Council Tax has been frozen at last year’s level and the budget for 2011-12 shows a cut in expenditure of £4.8m). Against this backdrop there is increasing pressure to take a critical look at all services which Cheshire East is not obliged to deliver. Therefore there is growing financial pressure to either cease the provision of such ‘non-statutory’ services or to transfer the responsibility to Town and Parish Councils. If local residents wish to see these non-statutory services maintained by the Parish Council then the funding for them will require an increase in the precept (the part of the Council Tax which is allocated for your Parish Council).
Which assets and services could be transferred or devolved to Prestbury Parish Council?
There are two types of assets and services under discussion:

- those that Cheshire East has a statutory duty to provide e.g. litter picking, road sweeping and grass cutting of verges. These services could be ‘devolved’ to Prestbury Parish Council. Funding will be provided for these services by Cheshire East

- those that are non-statutory ie Cheshire East is not obliged to provide e.g.
- Christmas trees and decorations
- Christmas lights (already partly funded by Prestbury Parish Council)
- public toilets
- hanging baskets
- flower beds
- bus shelters
- street name plates
- ownership and maintenance of the football pitch (Prestbury Parish Council already owns half of the pitch, Cheshire East funds the grass cutting)
- benches, flower tubs etc
- ponds and ditches
- children’s play area (already owned and maintained by Prestbury Parish Council)
- potentially any land owned by Cheshire East that is not ear-marked for development or other usage could be included in the above list of assets to be transferred.
At present, car parks are not included in the list of assets ear-marked for possible transfer, but this may change at some time in the future.
All these assets could be ‘transferred’ to Prestbury Parish Council. Funding will NOT be provided for these assets and services.
Other non-statutory assets and services that are not relevant to Prestbury include:
- civic / community halls (the Prestbury Village Hall and the Parish Council Chamber above the RBS bank are not affected as these are owned and managed by independent trusts)
- markets
- allotments
- parks.
How will these changes affect Prestbury residents?
The proposed changes could affect local residents in two ways:
- some of the non-statutory services may no longer be provided

- if residents wish to maintain some or all of the non-statutory services, then an increase in the Parish Council precept will be necessary
By how much will our precept increase?
To answer this question with any accuracy, Prestbury Parish Council needs further information on the financial impact of assuming responsibility for transferred / devolved assets and services. Some of the information currently being gathered and reviewed includes:
- a complete register of all the assets and services currently under the responsibility of Cheshire East which may be transferred / devolved to Prestbury Parish Council
- current cost to Cheshire East of maintaining / delivering these assets and services
- an alternative financial estimate of maintaining / delivering these assets and services if Prestbury Parish Council were to assume responsibility (this could entail sourcing these services ourselves or possibly in conjunction with other Parish or Town Councils)
- Consideration of ‘hidden costs’ such as increased workload for our Parish clerk, liability for emergency maintenance (eg fallen trees etc), increased public liability cover etc.

One further impact on the potential future costs will be how some of the transferred assets will be used. For example the public toilets could be maintained in their present condition or the building / site could be adapted for other uses. The Parish Council needs to consider all options before making a recommendation to Cheshire East whether or not to have the asset transferred.
Whilst it is too early for Prestbury Parish Council to make an accurate estimate of the impact on the precept, it would be fair to say that the possible increase is expected to be substantial. To put things into context, the public toilets are the most expensive item on the list. This is a non-statutory asset / service and the building is at risk of closure unless Prestbury Parish Council agrees to assume responsibility and provide funding for the on-going maintenance. The annual maintenance cost of the public toilets to Cheshire East is currently £15,000 per year. To avoid the closure of the public toilets, Prestbury Parish Council would need to raise the precept by over a third in order to fund this single item.
What will happen if Prestbury Parish Council decides not to take on responsibilities for these assets and services?
Cheshire East has a legal obligation to continue to provide the statutory services so these will be unaffected. With regards to the non-statutory services, in theory Cheshire East could cease the provision of these services. In practice this may be easier for some services (eg provision of a Christmas tree and Christmas lights) but more difficult for other services (eg necessary maintenance to prevent land from becoming unsafe).
When will these changes take effect?
Cheshire East proposes that the transfer / devolution of assets and services will take effect from April 2012, the start of the next financial year.
Does Prestbury Parish Council want to take on responsibility for these assets and services?
At this stage, it is too early for Prestbury Parish Council to recommend a position either way to local residents. More information is needed (as outlined above) and an opportunity for consultation with local residents needs to take place.
Next steps
Local residents are encouraged to attend the Annual Parish Meeting (May 3rd) where more information will be presented. Meanwhile the Parish Council is gathering more information on the various options and associated costs. Prestbury Parish Council expects to be in a position to recommend a way forward by May 2011, after the Annual Parish Meeting. The final decision on which if any of the assets or services will be transferred / devolved will be taken with Cheshire East in the summer.
Councillor Rob Parrish, Prestbury Parish Council