Alnwick Town Council news round-up

At the January meeting of Alnwick Town Council, members agreed to place £10,000 into a fund for future repairs and maintenance of the Alnwick Bike Track.
Alnwick Freeriders Bike Track. Picture by Jane ColtmanAlnwick Freeriders Bike Track. Picture by Jane Coltman
Alnwick Freeriders Bike Track. Picture by Jane Coltman

They committed to undertake the necessary works for the next three years before reviewing the situation.

It was a requirement of the grant funding received from Sport England that such a fund be established.

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The council was granted a 20-year lease for the site by Northumberland Estates in 2016.

Ian McCrae, from the Gallery Youth Project, gave an update about the outreach work at the facility.

Council tax rise: Alnwick councillors approved a budget and town council precept of £306,585 for 2019/20. For a Band D dwelling, this equates to an annual council-tax rise of £4.62 (8.9p per week) to £109.91 for the year, which is a 4.4% increase.

The 2019/20 budget will include an increased budget to assist town events (increased by £4,145) and an additional £5,000 for grants to local organisations.

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A fund of £3,500 is also budgeted for the painting of town centre lighting columns and funding is provided for an additional part-time operative.

Retail expert: Renowned retail analyst Bill Grimsey, author of The Grimsey Reports of 2013 and 2018, will tour Alnwick and present his vision on how town centres can survive at a meeting of the Business Forum on Wednesday, February 13.

Minute’s silence: Councillors held a minute’s silence and paid their respects to former colleague Ritchie Waddell who died recently.

Ritchie was a former town Mayor who retired as a councillor in 2013 and had served Alnwick councils for 51 years.