by John Prince
Hornsea Town Council has agreed increases of up to 30 per cent in town hall room hire and wedding charges after hearing that some bookings are costing the authority money.
Councillors backed recommendations from the council’s finance committee following a review of the cost of running the building, with the new charges due to come into effect from the beginning of November.
The review found that weddings had resulted in an overall loss of about £500 during the past three years, while the building’s running costs were estimated at around £1,450 a month.
That figure, based on electricity, gas and caretaker costs, does not include general wear and tear or the cost of a full redecoration of the building which is due to be carried out.
Under the changes, wedding charges from Monday to Thursday will rise by 20 per cent for new bookings, with a further 20 per cent increase planned for 2027 before the charges are reviewed again.
Bookings for weddings taking place between Friday and Sunday will attract an additional 10 per cent premium, meaning an overall 30 per cent increase on current charges.
Existing wedding bookings where prices have already been quoted will be honoured at the agreed rate.
General daytime room bookings will increase by 20 per cent, while all bookings after 4pm and weekend use will rise by 30 per cent.
As an example, a standard birthday party booking currently costing £15 an hour would increase by 20 per cent for a daytime booking (before 4pm) Monday to Friday and by 30 per cent after 4pm and at weekends.
A daytime block booking currently charged at £12.73 an hour would increase by 20 per cent between 9am and 4pm Monday to Friday, and a current block booking rate of £14.65 per hour will increase by 30 per cent from 4pm onwards.
Councillors were told the increases were needed to reflect rising staffing and utility costs, and to ensure Hornsea taxpayers were not effectively subsidising private functions and room bookings.
The discussion included the impact of labour costs, including a minimum wage figure of £13.28, as well as the continuing cost of heating, lighting and maintaining the premises.
Members said the venue would remain competitively priced and offered a high standard of facilities despite the increases.
It was also suggested that if higher weekend charges led to fewer bookings, there could still be a financial benefit because the building could remain closed, avoiding costs such as paying a caretaker to open and supervise the premises.
Councillors acknowledged the difficulty of balancing the council’s public-service role with its responsibility to manage taxpayers’ money and avoid running services at a loss.
Regular users with rolling block bookings will move on to the new charges at the beginning of November, whilst other increases will be applied with immediate effect to all new bookings.
Members also agreed that the effect of the increases should be monitored, including whether the council gains or loses users as a result.
The charges are expected to be reviewed again as part of the council’s budget-setting process within the next year.
In a meeting of Hornsea Town Council, Cllr Nick Cox said: “Everybody knows in this world that prices are going up, and the people who are renting for weight watchers and dancing classes and things, they must appreciate that things are going up.
“If they have to pay more, then they’ll pass that on to their customers. Unfortunately, that’s the way of the world.
“But we have got taxpayers’ money in this building, and we’ve got due diligence to make sure that we don’t end up being out of pocket, because it’s not our money to be out of pocket with.
“We didn’t want to do it, but we didn’t have any choice.”
Cllr Barbara Jefferson said: “Tonight’s been a very, very hard time for the finance committee. I think in comparison we’re quite competitive when it comes to prices, so we’re way down which is what makes it so popular.
“For a wedding you really want a nice venue, and I think this place has got it.
“But the bottom line is, we cannot justify a loss or a negative budget.”
The recommendations were approved.
The council has given notice to the town hall’s regular users and people who have already booked, and has said the announcement has been met positively.
