Budget consultation opens as residents face tax hikes
Gloucestershire residents are being asked for their views
County residents, who are facing even more tax and parking charge hikes again next year, are being asked to have their say on Shire Hall’s budget proposals.
Gloucestershire County Council chiefs have agreed this week to go out to consultation with their proposed budget for the next financial year.
The revenue budget, which pays for day to day services such as adult and children social care, road maintenance and management of the county’s tips, is expected to total £697.5m, an increase of more than £32.37m.
The council is also looking to spend £216.5m on projects such as improvements to junction 10 of the M5 which would be allocated £77m and £15m extra on highways maintenance and full resurfacing schemes.
However, the authority will also be looking to apply a council tax increase of just under five per cent which will see its proportion of the council tax bill for a band D property increase by £83.81 to £1,763.46 for 2026/27.
Council chiefs hope to raise £338k by hiking parking fees and the cost of on-street parking will also go up under the plans over the next two years.
This is to make the charges the same as those charged at off street parking sites, according to the council.
Resident parking permits will return to full price as a temporary fee reduction comes to an end and a second permit would cost £160.
Business parking permits are also being increased to £400 with second permits costing £500.
Prices will continue to rise for the permits each year for three years.
Carer permits will cost £30 to cover administration of the scheme, and new rules will help make sure they’re used fairly.
And the council also aims to raise £100k from stopping some of the least used supported bus services it funds and £450k from increasing the amount housing developers and utility firms must pay when working on the road network.
Finance cabinet member Colin Hay (LD, All Saints and Oakley) who presented the draft budget at the cabinet meeting on December 3 said it was created from an incredibly difficult position.
He claimed they have been “left with a £17m blackhole they have had to try and fill”.
And he said the authority “cannot ignore the huge uncertainty” local councils face and they are awaiting the Government’s fairer funding review.
“We’ve had some indications it may not be quite as good and fair for us as it might have been,” he said.
But he explained that their budget “is a reset after those 20 years”.
“We’ve looked very carefully at the services we provide and how those can be developed,” he said.
“Because it is a reset, we are looking to the future to see how we can improve the way in which we do things.”
He said the budget proposals are subject to change and encouraged people to comment on them.
People can view the full budget proposals and have their say here.