West Berkshire Council - balancing budgets for 2025/26

Published: 24 October 2024

In preparation for its 2025/26 budget, West Berkshire Council (WBC) will launch a public consultation on Monday 11 November, giving residents an opportunity to provide feedback on potential budget-balancing measures. This consultation, subject to approval by the Executive on 7 November, seeks public input to ensure WBC balances finances while maintaining essential services.

Local authority funding continues to be extremely challenging and West Berkshire Council is not alone in making difficult decisions to deliver a balanced budget. At the start of the budget-setting process, WBC forecast a deficit of £12.1m when considering its anticipated income against the cost of delivering services. Around £3.3m savings have been found which don’t require consultation, and proposals which could deliver a financial benefit up to £1.2m which do. Proposals will be detailed at the Executive meeting, but some examples are:

• Consult on the future of the Council’s three resource centres
• Turn off streetlights in residential roads between 12.00am and 5.00am
• Reduce number of vehicles available for winter gritting

More information can be found in WBC’s online newsroom.