By Local Democracy Reporter Peter Davison
From weddings and burials to pest control and late fees at the library, hundreds of services offered by Wiltshire Council will cost more from April.
In an unusual show of cross-party consensus, Wiltshire councillors voted unanimously on Wednesday 7th January to increase the price of hundreds of services it offers to the public.
Most will be going up by the Consumer Price Index – meaning an increase of around 3.8 or 3.9 per cent. But there are exceptions.
The cost of getting married in an approved venue will rise from £630 to £675 – an increase of 7.1 per cent – if you want to get married on a Thursday or Friday. Tying the knot on a Saturday will go up from £685 to £725 – an increase of 5.8 per cent.
That’s just for the legal services provided by the council and doesn’t include the cost of venue hire at council-owned venues, which varies from town to town.
When death does you part, the price of a burial will be going up too, from £1,075 to £1,120 – up 4.2 per cent – for burial in a coffin, and from £370 to £385 – up 4.1 per cent – for the internment of ashes.
There’s a surcharge for oversized coffins, and for erecting a headstone. And if you want exclusive use of the plot for 40 years there’s an extra charge for that too.
Thinking of staving off death by keeping fit? That will be getting more expensive too.
A one-year adult gym membership will be going up from £385 to £396 – an increase of 2.9 per cent – while the cost of an annual swimming pass is going up from £297 to £308, or 3.7 per cent.
Exercising the mind remains free if you’re borrowing books from the library, but reserving a book will cost a pound per item.
And make sure you get those books back on time – the overdue fee will be going up from 22p to 25p a day – a whopping 13.6 per cent increase.
For green bin users the annual fee for collection is going up from £75 to £78 – four per cent.
Meanwhile, bulky waste collection is going up by £1.50 per item to £34 – an increase of 4.5 per cent.
And the cost of pest control is going up too. Three visits from a rat catcher will cost you £156 – up £6, or four per cent on the previous fee – while getting someone to sort out a wasp nest will set you back £88, up from £85 – an increase of 3.5 per cent.
The list of discretionary service fees also shines a light on some of the more unusual services operated by the council.
A licence to keep a dangerous wild animal will be going up from £340 to £353 for the first year, or from £230 to £239 if you survive year one and want to renew the licence.
Want to open a zoo? Along with all the other costs associated with running such an enterprise you’ll need a £1,277 licence.
Opening a sex shop? You’ll need a licence for that too, costing £2,284, while opening a strip club will cost you £4,152 in licence fees alone.
Want to try your hand as a stage hypnotist? It will cost you £145 per event – although presumably you can use your unique skills of persuasion to negotiate a discount.
The list does not include council services like parking, planning, commercial rents, or any services for which the government mandates a set fee.
Pictured: County Hall
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