Published: Thursday, 29th January 2026
We have published a draft budget for 2026/27, setting out plans to maintain essential services, respond to residents’ priorities and manage significant national funding pressures.
The draft budget includes a balanced position for 2026/27 in line with the council’s Medium-Term Financial Strategy (2025–2030), which has been updated to reflect major changes to how councils are funded.
Cllr Alistair Beales, Borough Council Leader, said: “This is a responsible and realistic budget for very challenging times.
“In West Norfolk, we’ve been honest about the situation that councils face. We’ve taken difficult but necessary decisions to manage costs, deliver efficiencies and protect essential services for our communities, while dealing with issues in how we are funded that are beyond local control.
“Importantly, we continue to prioritise what our residents tell us matters most to them – maintaining core services and supporting those most in need – while planning carefully for the future.
“As a result, we have put forward a budget that balances financial prudence with ambition. This approach will ensure the council remains financially sustainable in the years ahead.”
The Borough Council element of council tax for an average Band D property is proposed to increase by £4.57 (2.99%) to £157.44, remaining among the lower council tax levels nationally.
This equates to about 7p in every £1 of council tax collected. The remaining 93p goes to Norfolk County Council, the Police and Crime Commissioner and parish councils.
However, more than 40% of the 7p retained by the Borough cannot be spent on services as it is absorbed by Internal Drainage Board levies – an issue on which the council continues to lobby Central Government*. This year the Government has also announced changes to the way councils are funded which have added further pressure to the council’s financial position.
The council has identified £2.78m of savings and efficiencies for 2026/27 alongside continued work to control costs, generate income and deliver services more efficiently and, as part of its medium‑term approach, will make planned and controlled use of reserves. This means that general reserves will reduce over the period but they are forecast to remain above the minimum level required.
These measures have enabled the Council to put forward a funded budget.
Some fees and charges are proposed to increase broadly in line with inflation, while others will remain unchanged to reflect market conditions or wider policy considerations.
However, Council Tax Support will continue at 100% to protect the most vulnerable residents, and the Council will maintain its £500,000 grants programme for local organisations and its investment in homelessness prevention and housing support.
The Council has also made provision to ensure it can continue to support major capital projects, such as its ambitious housing programme – which includes a significant number of properties for affordable rent – and regenerating heritage assets.
Cllr Chris Morley, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Finance, said: “We are trying to run our services in a climate of uncertainty about how local government is going to be organised in two years, in the face of ever-increasing financial challenges and in a situation where last-minute additional pressures have had to be accommodated.
“The £2.78m savings we identified would have given us a greater opportunity to support capital projects but the final outcome of the Government’s funding review – which did not reflect fully what was consulted on – has had a significant impact on us, and as such we now need to use some reserves to present a funded budget. We have written to the Government to lobby them on this issue.
“Nonetheless, by planning cautiously but with aspiration for the people of West Norfolk, we have produced a budget that addresses immediate challenges and keeps an eye on the future. This budget will both serve our communities over the next 12 months and help us create assets that will benefit them for many years to come.”
The budget is part of the Council’s Medium-Term Financial Strategy (2025–2030), which reflects:
- Changes to government funding through the new Fair Funding system
- A full reset of business rates from April 2026
- Inflationary pressures and uncertainty beyond 2027/28
The draft budget will be considered by Cabinet on 3 February and Full Council on 27 February.