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Wimborne Minster Town Council

Established on 1 April 1974, Wimborne Minster is a town and civil parish in East Dorset. The Town Council is divided into two wards: Wimborne Town and Wimborne East. As the first level of local government and a statutory body, the Town Council provides its local community with a democratic voice and a structure for taking community action.

The Council is accountable to the electors of the parish. Wimborne Minster has a population of 7,399 persons (2019, Mid Year Estimates, Office of National Statistics) and 3,298 households (2011 Census).

Elections to Wimborne Minster Town Council take place every 4 years. The Council is made up of 14 Councillors who are voluntary. Every year the Council elects one councillor to be the Chairman of the Council (the Town Mayor).

All Councillors work in partnership with the community, voluntary organisations and other local authorities to benefit all residents and to make the Town a better place to live, visit and work.

The Council operates from the Town Hall on West Borough. The Council employs a small staff team to implement the decisions made by the democratically elected Members of the Council.

How We Are Funded

The Council Tax is paid by over 3,400 households in Wimborne Minster. It includes the spending requirements of Dorset Council, Dorset Police and Dorset Fire Authority as well as the Town Council. Dorset Council is responsible for collecting the Council Tax. Many people do not realise that the Town Council does not receive any money from central government, neither does it get any of the non-domestic rates which local businesses pay.

Each year the Town Council calculates the money it needs to raise to provide its services. Then it deducts income which it expects to receive from fees and charges such as the hire of sports facilities, lettings of the various rooms, rents, etc to leave the amount it requires to spend on the services and any capital projects which are planned for the year ahead. This sum, called the precept, is the amount the Town Council asks Dorset Council to collect for it. Dorset Council does this as a proportion of the total Council Tax paid by householders in the Town.