Budget Consultation

West Berkshire Council today (Monday 11 November) launches a public consultation to give residents the opportunity to have their say on how to balance its 2025/26 budget. 

The proposals to generate income or save money come as West Berkshire Council prepares its budget for 2025/26. In identifying areas to make savings the priority is to protect the most vulnerable residents, minimise the impact on frontline services and work to transform services to ensure they continue to be delivered effectively efficiently and focused on our customers. 

Local authority funding continues to be extremely challenging and West Berkshire Council is not alone in making difficult decisions to deliver a balanced budget. When starting the budget-setting process the Council was forecasting a deficit of £12.1m when considering its anticipated income against the cost of delivering services. Around £3.7m savings have been found that don't require consultation, and proposals which could deliver a financial benefit up to £1.2m which do. They are set out in full on the consultation page but include: 

• Consulting on the future of the Council's three resource centres. 

• Turning off streetlights in residential roads between 12am to 5am. 

• Reducing the number of winter gritting routes. 

A new scheme is also being proposed which, if approved, would see residents invited to donate to a charity led by West Berkshire Council to support local initiatives. 

Details about the proposals and how to respond are available at: westberks.gov.uk/balancing-our-budget. Anyone unable to access them online can call the Customer Services team for assistance on: 01635 551111.  

Introducing the consultation, the Leader of West Berkshire Council, Councillor Jeff Brooks said:  

"Every year we have to make increasingly difficult decisions about how to spend the money we receive. Higher costs and increasing demand mean our funding doesn't go as far as it used to, and this can only be resolved in the long term by central Government. Together with the other Berkshire authorities we are continuing to lobby them to address an issue which is fast becoming a perilous one.  

"In setting the budget for next year we remain committed to working with other organisations and residents to deliver services we can be proud of. We want to feel proud of West Berkshire and keep investing in the district's infrastructure - and residents will see us continue to invest in leisure centres, schools and other projects important to current and future generations."   

The consultation is open from Monday 11 November until midnight on Monday 23 December. 

The budget is due to be considered by the Executive on Thursday 13 February 2025 and approved by Full Council on Thursday 27 February 2025. It will also be discussed by members of the Scrutiny Commission on Tuesday 11 February 2025. All three meetings will be open to the public and residents can attend either in person at the Market Street Offices or to stream live and on-demand via our YouTube channel.  

Watch the Leader of West Berkshire Council, Councillor Jeff Brooks, introduce the budget consultation, explain why its necessary and how we will continue to invest in services across the district here: https://youtu.be/B7Yjzn7A4ys.