Paddock Wood Town Council is divided into two wards. The East Ward has seven members, and the West Ward has six members. Although elected to a specific ward, members can speak on any issue not just those related to their ward.
Full Council meets on the 3rd Monday of every month, at the Day Centre, Commercial Road. Meetings commence at 7.45, unless otherwise stated.
The Council has five full Committees: Planning and Environment, Estates, Finance, Governance and Personnel. The P & E committee meets on the 1st and 3rd Monday of every month, except August. The Estates Committee meets on the 2nd Monday of every month, except January & August. The Finance Committee meets in June, November, and January to review & set the budget for the following financial year, and the Personnel Committee meets as required. The Governance Committee meets January, April, August & October. Other meetings are arranged as and when required.
What do you get for your Council Tax?
The Town Council has now set its budget and agreed the precept for 2025/2026.
The Council has approved precept of £903,490 for 2025/26. This equates to a 1.2% increase on the previous year. The Precept is an annual amount set by a Town or Parish Council in order to pay for costs contained within a set budget.
The additional budget for costs relating to the Community Centre for 2025/26 is £135,000. This is expected to reduce significantly in future years as the Community Centre becomes more established. As the building is an asset of the Town Council, there will continue to be costs for Facilities Management to ensure the maintenance of the building.
Spend for 2024/2025 included funds for new Estates vehicles, implementation of a new IT contractor, removal of trees at the Cemetery to allow for expansion of burial area, removed and upgraded the Children’s burial area and pathway, installation of a new Zip Wire at St Andrews Park, maintenance of the pond at Putlands.
The budget for 2025/2026 includes increases for utility costs and increased National Insurance. It also includes additional staff costs for an extra member for Estates and additional hours for the Office. Money has been included for reinstating the Wildflower meadow at Green Lane, work at Green Lane ponds, additional CCTV at Memorial and replacing the Christmas Lights as they have reached the end of their contract.
Future projects include replacement of bins owned and maintained by PWTC, extending the Cemetery Wall and improvements to the Skateboard Park and funds have been put aside for these.
2025 will mark 80 years of VE day and the budget includes £8,000 towards activities planned by the Town.
What does the Town Council element of your council tax bill fund?
Paddock Wood Town Council owns and pays for the upkeep of the following sites:
- 5 playing fields plus pavilions
- 5 children’s play areas & the skateboard park
- Foal Hurst Wood, Orchard Meadow & Green Lane Spinney
- The New Cemetery & Closed Church Yard
- The War Memorial & Town Centre Benches
- Town Council offices & St Andrews Hall at St Andrews Playing Fields
- Town Council workshops at the Memorial Field
- Open spaces at Cobbs Close, White’s Corner & Mount Pleasant
- Five balancing ponds
- 3 allotment sites
- 5 bus shelters
The above sites are looked after by a full time Estates Manager & two full time groundsmen based at the Memorial Field. The Estates Committee meets monthly to agree future work.
The Town Council also funds the hanging baskets and planters in the Town Centre as well as the Christmas lights and trees.
The Town Council leases the Day Centre from the Borough Council and is responsible for the running costs and maintenance of the building. The Town Centre toilets are also funded by the Town Council.
The Planning & Environment Committee meets twice a month to comment on local planning applications.
The Town Council assists with and funds the cost of the annual Remembrance Sunday Parade. It has also purchased and maintains 4 defibrillators.
The Town Council has increased the grant it provides to the Community Advice Centre annually from £12,000 to £13,500 for their work. There reflects the greater need for their services in the current climate. The council also provides grants for other local groups as requested.
A contribution of £12,200 is also made towards the running costs of Putlands Sports and Leisure Centre.
The council is administered by a full time Town Clerk, a part time Deputy Clerk and an Assistant Clerk/Financial Officer based in The Podmore Building St Andrews Road. The council also employs an Estates Manager and 2 full time Estates Staff and is seeking a new Estates member of staff currently.
Full details of the Town Council’s budget and all its activities can be found on our website Approved Budget 2025/2026 – Paddock Wood Town Council. Further details on this budget can be seen in the presentation given at the December Full Council meeting HERE.
Further information of the breakdown of Kent County Council, Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, Kent Police and Kent Fire & Rescue council tax spend can be found on their websites.
A Band D Council Tax bill is made up of 2024/25 2025/26 % increase
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council £146.23 £150.60 3.0%
Kent County Council £1610.82 £1691.19 5.0%
Kent Police £256.15 £270.15 5.5%
Kent Fire & Rescue £89.91 £94.86 5.5%
Paddock Wood Town Council £233.17 £235.92 1.2%
Total Annual Charge £2336.28 £2442.72 4.6%
The CPI rate used for calculation of the Paddock Wood Town Council budgets was 1.7% (Sept 2024).
For each £ of your bill, this is the split of where your money goes.
2024/25 2025/26
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council 6.3p 6.2p
Kent County Council 68.9p 69.2p
Kent Police 11.0p 11.0p
Kent Fire and Rescue 3.8p 3.9p
Paddock Wood Town Council 10p 9.7p
March 2025