At the AGM last year the residents agreed to a total precept charge of £32,500 to cover the costs of maintaining the square garden.
This works out to about £674 per house, an increase of 11% over the previous year.
Uniquely in the borough of Westminster, our precept charge is added to the council tax demands sent to each house on the Square. (We are our own line-item in the annual accounts of the city council.) Westminster is thus responsible for collecting our annual maintenance fees. This may be very convenient but we pay a charge of 4% for this service because they assume a collection rate of 96%.
Most houses on the square are in Council Tax Band H (the highest) and these houses will pay £673.72 next year. Houses in lower bands or carrying partial or complete exemptions will pay correspondingly less.