USERS of Alton Town Council's recreation and leisure facilities will be paying 10 per cent more from April 1, 2005. Demands on ATC funds and the need to generate greater income from council services led to councillors agreeing an increase in fees to reflect the quality of the facilities provided and to bring Alton more in line with surrounding areas. A comparison with charges for sports facilities in Farnham (Waverley Borough Council) and the Basingstoke area had revealed that Alton's charges were, in general, slightly lower, while the Assembly Rooms charges remained comparable with similar rooms elsewhere. Examples included an adult rugby match at Anstey Park, which in Alton would currently be charged at £36, compared to £46.81 in the Waverley area and £46.05 in Basingstoke. A junior football match at Jubilee Fields in Alton would currently cost £17 compared to £23.40 in Farnham and £22.80 in Basingstoke, and an adult cricket match at Jubilee Fields would cost £40.50, compared to £45.53 in the Waverley area and £39.55 in Basingstoke. Room hire showed the same differences with the hire of the large hall at Alton Assembly Rooms currently costing £30 for two hours on a weekday evening compared to £58.44 at Alton Community Centre and £44.86 for a similar hall in Petersfield. In discussing the matter, members of the town council's recreation committee felt that, with these comparisons in mind, "Alton appeared to offer very good value for money to users, not only in terms of actual cost but also quality of service". And they felt that an increase of approximately 10 per cent was justified and would not unduly penalise users. It was pointed out that, from 2005, users should see some significant improvements at the Assembly Rooms where charges have been held down for some years due to the pending refurbishment. As a result it was agreed that the charge for a minimum two hour weekday letting of the large hall should in fact rise from £30 to £35 - equating to just under 17 per cent, with other rates being increased pro rata. This was the largest increase agreed. The charge for the lower and upper rooms will also experience a distinctive change, with the minimum let decreasing from two hours at £20 to one and a half hours at £16.50. While electricity in the kitchen is by coin meter, there is still no charge for the use of the kitchen and the Burco Urn but the hire of the piano will see an increase from £4.50 to £6 for all or part of the day and the use of the microphone will increase from £8.50 to £9.50. Stage and/or spotlighting will increase from £11 to £12, but there will be no increase in the external hire of tables and chairs, which are charged at a minimum rate of £10. Sunday bookings, commercial charges and consecutive bookings are subject to their own rates. In Anstey Park increases will range from 9.1 to 12.0 per cent across the board. The hire of a rugby pitch, for example, with changing facilities, will increase from £36 to £47 (including VAT) for an adult match and from £18 to £23.50 (including VAT) for an under- 18s match. Adult training sessions will increase from £25.50 to £32.90 and junior sessions from £12.75 to £16.45. The hire of a football pitch, with changing facilities, will increase from £25 to £32.90 (including VAT) for an adult match and from £12.50 to £16.45 (including VAT) for juniors. This is slightly less than the cost of a pitch at Jubilee Playing Fields where the adult rate will increase from £34 to £44.65 (including VAT) and the junior rate from £17 to £22.33 (including VAT) Football training sessions will rise from £16.50 to £21.15 for adults and from £8.25 to £10.58 for juniors at Anstey Park and from £24 to £30.55 for adults and from £12 to £15.28 for juniors at Jubilee Fields. All figures include VAT. Cricket tables at Anstey Park will see an increase from £40.50 to £52.88 (with VAT) for adults and from £20.25 to £26.44 (with VAT) for juniors at both venues, with a similar increase for training sessions at Jubilee Fields. The use of the tennis courts at Anstey Park will see an increase from £8.50 to £9.50 for the use of the floodlights on a one-hour basis, but there will be no charge for casual use of the courts. The hire of the netball courts will be charged at £11.16 (including VAT) for adults - an increase of 11.8 per cent, and at £7.05 (with VAT) for juniors, a rise of 9.1 per cent. The hiring of the park for individual balloon launches is to be discontinued in favour of an annual fee, to be paid in advance, for unlimited launches, which it was agreed should remain at £420. Despite a recommended 13.1 per cent increase to £475 councillors felt that it would be better to await the provision of public toilets in the newly refurbished Finnimore Pavilion before seeking a further increase. The hiring of facilities at Jubilee Fields for stoolball players will increase on April 1 by ten per cent to £12.93 (including VAT but excluding use of the changing rooms) and the hire of the tea room and kitchen facilities at the Harry Baker Pavilion will go up by 20 per cent to £10.58 (including VAT). Because the town's allotment rents were increased in January 2004 by 14 per cent it was agreed to leave them at £12 for a further year, but with a view to implementing a £1 increase in 2006.
