Uttlesford approves budget for 2025/26
Uttlesford District Council has set a budget for 2025/26 that maintains service levels, protects residents on low incomes and keeps the rise in Council Tax bills at a below-inflation 2.99%.
Despite further cuts in government funding and increasing immediate and longer-term financial pressures on local councils, Uttlesford has confidence in its financial position and will continue to invest in services and the decarbonisation of its estate, whilst also putting almost £20 million aside for new council homes.
Councillors approved the budget at a meeting on Tuesday (25 February).
The 2.99% increase in the district council element of Council Tax is the equivalent of an extra £5.28 per year for residents in a Band D property. This modest increase will allow important services provided by the council to continue whilst also helping to support the most generous local council tax support scheme in Essex for vulnerable residents and those on a low income.
Rents for the authority's 2,800 council house tenants will increase by 2.7%, bringing average rents to £129.61 per week which remains substantially lower than private sector equivalent rents.
Cllr Neil Hargreaves, Portfolio Holder for Finance and Local Economy, said: "The 2025/26 budget process has been an unusually challenging one. This is due to factors outside of our control. The uncertainty, lateness and lack of clarity on funding announcements from government, coupled with the announcement on local government reorganisation made late in the financial year, means we have needed to adapt and adjust plans at short notice. We have also had to put nearly £3 million aside to pay for our part of the reorganisation work that is to come. Our former auditors, BDO, failed to carry out four years of audits, but under most welcome government instruction for all councils, the backlog years of accounts are now published and closed.
"Despite the ongoing constraints, I am pleased that we have produced a balanced, prudent budget that protects services and our most vulnerable residents whilst including some additional resource for exciting projects. This is a testament to the robustness of the council's activities, particularly the Blueprint Uttlesford programme which has produced £2.5 million in savings without cuts to key services."
Residents can find out more about the budget, including the supporting strategies and information about Council Tax, at: www.uttlesford.gov.uk/budget
27 February 2025
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