Bristol councillors expected to approve plans to increase council tax
Bristol city councillors will vote on plans at the annual budget meeting
Families across Bristol will see council tax bills rise by 4.99 per cent for the sixth year running from April.
It means annual charges for the average Band D household will increase by £129.79 to £2,713.68 and by £100.94 to £2,110.64 for Band B, for the 2026/27 financial year.
The lowest Band A’s fees will go up by £86.53 to £1,809.12, Band C by £115.37 to £2,412.17, and Band E by £158.64 to £3,316.72.
Bands F, G and H – the most expensive properties – will rise by £187.47 to £3,919.76, £216.33 to £4,522.80, and by £259.58 to £5,427.36 respectively.
The figures comprise Bristol City Council’s share of the bills – a 2.99 per cent hike for day-to-day general services, such as libraries, roads and bin collections, and two per cent ringfenced for social care – which is by far the largest, plus precepts for policing and fire services.
All three authorities chose to increase their precepts by the maximum allowed without the need for a local referendum because this is the expectation from the government when deciding how much money each should receive in grant funding.
Earlier this month, Avon & Somerset police and crime panel voted in favour of a £15 uplift for an average Band D home in council tax for policing as proposed by the police and crime commissioner, while Avon Fire Authority has agreed a £5 rise.
The increases above for each household band include all of these.
Barring something very unexpected, Bristol city councillors will vote in favour at the annual budget meeting on Thursday, February 12.
No other options for council tax rises were given during the public consultation at the end of last year.
About 48 per cent of respondents opposed the 2.99 per cent rise for the council’s core spending with 43 per cent in favour, although more than twice as many people strongly disagreed than strongly agreed – 34 per cent versus 16 per cent.
For the two per cent social care precept, 47 per cent approved the idea while 41 per cent were against.
There was a smaller gap between those who strongly disagreed – 29 per cent – and those who strongly agreed – 20 per cent.
For both proposals, about one in 10 neither agreed nor disagreed.