Wealden District Council’s Budget consultation goes live

Residents and business are being urged to have their say as Wealden District Council has launched a consultation on its budget for the financial year 2025/26.

The consultation is now live and closes on 10 January 2025. The results will be reviewed before the council sets a budget in February 2025.

The consultation is open to residents, businesses and organisations within the Wealden district and will be used, alongside other evidence, to inform next year’s budget proposals. The information from this survey will be used to inform the next stage in the budget processes and by councillors as they set the budget and council tax for 2025/26.

The consultation is for the 2025/26 budget and the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for the next five years. Wealden District Council want residents’ views on how it spends its money, how it could raise more money and the level at which it should set the council tax next year. 

To put the Council Tax figures into context, although Wealden District Council collects council tax on behalf of East Sussex County Council and the Police and Fire services, as well as its own, it only keeps around  9p in every pound collected (around £4.13p a week or £214.72 a year for an average Band D property) to deliver services. The vast majority of council tax collected by the district council goes to East Sussex County Council (71p), Wealden Police and Crime Commissioner (10p) and East Sussex Combined Fire Authority (5p), with the remainder going to the 42 parish and town councils across the district (average 5p).

Among the services that Wealden council provides is waste collection, environmental health, council housing, planning and building control.

The consultation closes on 10 January 2025.

Councillor Greg Collins, Alliance for Wealden (Green Party), and lead councillor for Finance and HR, said, “Setting a balanced budget is critical to this council’s continuing success, as well as being a legal obligation.  Getting feedback from residents, and a whole range of our other stakeholders, about our proposed spending plans is essential.  I’m keen to hear their voices and suggestions. I urge everyone in Wealden to have their say and so the survey will be available on our new engagement hub until 10 January 2024.”

Residents in Wealden can access the consultation by visiting the Let’s Talk Wealden engagement hub at Let's Talk Wealden.