MILFORD Haven town council will hand out almost £40,000 to the community over the next year.

On Thursday, January 10, the council set out its spending plans for the next 12 months.

In order to cover these costs, a £2.45 annual precept increase was agreed.

This means the average (Band D) household will now pay £37.45 towards local services.

Members voted to continue supporting Milford Haven Museum and the Torch Theatre to the tune of £10,000 each, with just over £4,000 agreed for the town's Round Table organisation.

Milford Haven Sea Cadets and Royal Marine Cadets were awarded £2,500 - less than the £3,000 they asked for - as councillors tried to stick to a strict budget.

The Pill Social Centre will receive £4,500 to fix its ageing plumbing system, and a £2,000 donation will go towards keeping the Mount Community Centre open.

The town band and junior band will share £2,500, and local Army cadets will receive £1,200 to help buy first aid equipment.

But applications by two groups were turned down.

Milford Haven Special Needs Gymnastics, which trains at the Meads Leisure Centre, had asked for £5,000 towards a new floor.

Some of its members are currently training for the Special Olympics in Liverpool in 2021, but the centre no longer has a sprung floor, meaning gymnasts must train on judo mats.

Members asked how a group operating out of a county council-run facility had been left without important resources.

Cllr William Elliott queried whether it was right to fund ‘building work’ in a local authority-run centre.

Cllr Rhys Sinnett proposed not funding the new floor, saying it was the job of the county council to offer support to groups using its facilities.

An application from Milford Haven Gymnastics Club was also rejected.

The club, which moved from the leisure centre to a new home in Thornton last year, had also asked for £5,000 for new flooring, but the application was turned down because of a lack of financial information.