At a meeting of the Board held on 19 January the Commissioners voted to set a Parish rate of 200p in the pound for 2017/18; a reduction of 2.44% on last year. The discount for prompt payment will remain at 5%.
 
This is the fifth rate reduction in as many years and has been made possible due to a number of factors including savings identified in administration costs and most notably a reduction in the cost of providing the Refuse and Recycling services.

The Board will always continue to examine potential savings and with this in mind, they aim to work more closely with neighbouring authorities to identify common areas where economies of scale would benefit all. However, they cannot guarantee that the rate will continue to fall as the increases in costs across government services are bound to impact on the rate at some point in the coming years.
 
The Commissioners were delighted that the proposed community centre project at the Strang Corner Field received planning approval in November 2016. All the costs incurred to date have been met from reserves. Further consideration will be given to the project in the next few months to make sure the plans as proposed are affordable and changes made if required.
 
In terms of housing, the sale of Cronkbourne Village is currently ongoing and the Commissioners are confident it will be sold shortly and a new and enhanced chapter in its history will commence under the new owners. The demolition of Snugborough Farm House in Union Mills, which is now in the ownership of the Authority, offers an opportunity to explore building additional affordable housing with the potential for a number of different tenures.
 
In addition to the general running of the Authority, their budgeted projects for the forthcoming year are:
 
• Heritage Trail – various improvements are being considered to promote the use of this as an active travel route into Douglas
• Upgrading the safety surfacing in the Commissioners’ playgrounds
• Implementing a Woodland Management Plan to safeguard the Heritage Trail and Cronk Grianagh Park for future generations
• A master plan for Cronk Grianagh Park