Town council set to invest record amounts of money into Kenilworth

Kenilworth Town Council is set to invest a record amount of money into the town.

Most of this money comes from the community infrastructure levy (CIL) paid to the Council by developers building new houses in the town.

Some of it also comes from money paid by local taxpayers.

So far the Council has received £425,000 and has committed to spend £183,000, mainly on improvements at the Talisman theatre and much smaller amounts on projects - as proposed by Liberal Democrats - on improvements to the Clarke's Avenue bridge and on a feasibility study to improve the town’s skateboard park at Castle Farm Recreation Ground.

Given the current housebuilding planning applications that have been agreed it is currently projected the council coudl receive a further £695,000.

However, when and if this money will be received in the next three-five years depends on progress with the housing developments.

At this week's meeting it was agreed to recommend to a full meeting of the Town Council in January that it should invest £62,750 to improve safety for pedestrians and road users on Warwick Road between the St John's gyratory and beyond The Pavilions development to the entrance to the new rugby club site towards Leek Wootton.

The plans include street lighting, traffic calming measures and an extension of the 30mph speed limit and should also make the Rouncil Lane/Warwick Road junction safer.

These plans will be subject to full public consultation in due course.

A sum of £35,700 will be invested in a natural flood management project led by Warwickshire Wildlife Trust to the west of Kenilworth to help prevent flooding of Finham Brook.

This is a two year project and the committee agreed that, if more funds are needed in the second year, the council would consider extra support if funds are available.

This comprehensive application was supported by numerous letters of support from local organisations and landowners.

Also agreed was an unspecified contribution towards the cost of a new all weather athletics track at the new Kenilworth school which has been planned for ten years.

This is now due to be complete by June 2023 and open in September 2023.

The council had received an application last month for £500,000 for facilities costing £750,000.

Cllr Richard Dickson (Lib Dem, Kenilworth St John’s) said: “This is substantially more than the council currently has available but nonetheless Liberal Democrat councillors made it 100 per cent clear that, even with just a few months until the development work is expected to be complete, we want to support the school in some way to provide the best possible facilities for both students at the school and the local community.

"The planning consent three years ago also requires the school to produce a community use agreement setting out how the community can use all of the school's facilities.

"It was agreed that, before its next meeting in February the town council will discuss with Warwick District Council how and to what extent help can be given to the school with this project.”

The meeting this week also agreed to invest approximately £11,000 in various projects led by local voluntary and community sector groups to support both older and younger residents, especially to address mental health needs and to reduce social isolation.

It was also agreed to recommend to the full town council to invest an extra £8,000 in a project to provide counselling help for young families.

Both the CIL spending and the investment from council tax were agreed by representatives of all political parties on the Council working together.

The committee meeting discussed the plans to be agreed at the January full council meeting.

These include, as proposed by the Liberal Democrats, not increasing the civic hospitality spending which was agreed.

Cllr Dickson added: “However the meeting rejected the Liberal Democrat plans both to use five per cent of the CIL money to cover the substantial costs incurred by the council in processing CIL applications and monitoring and evaluation of the projects and, given the cost of living crisis being endured by so many Kenilworth households, to limit the Town Council tax rise to no more than five per cent.

“Instead the Conservative and Green Party councillors on the committee voted to recommend to the full town council that the town council tax be increased by ten per cent.”