Have your say on our draft budget

Woman in a grey top sitting behind a table, smiling as she puts coins in a pink piggy bank. Coins and a calculator are on the table next to the piggy bank

Bracknell Forest residents, groups and organisations can now have their say on the council’s proposed 2025 to 2026 budget.

Each December we set out proposals for where we will spend our money the following financial year. We also set out where we propose to make savings (sometimes referred to as efficiencies).

At its meeting on Tuesday 10 December, the council’s cabinet agreed that the public should be consulted on the proposed 2025 to 2026 budget over the next 6 weeks.

This means you have until 5pm on Wednesday 22 January to look through the proposed spending and savings and let us know what you think.

Like all local authorities, the council is experiencing financial pressure and so balancing the budget this year is challenging. The proposals aim to protect services for our most vulnerable residents and make sure of good and high-quality frontline services. However, to balance the books it is proposed to reduce some discretionary services.

This year’s budget includes a range of proposals, including:

  • investing £2.7 million to repair and improve Bracknell Forest roads in 2025 to 2026
  • investing £445,000 in South Hill Park on essential maintenance to help keep the building and Wilde Theatre running 
  • spending £100,000 on environmental work to stop some of our ponds, streams and wetland areas from becoming flooded and harming wildlife and biodiversity 
  • investing £445,000 to make council buildings more energy efficient and reduce their impact on the environment in line with the borough’s Net Zero ambitions
  • investing £500,000 in council properties used mainly for temporary accommodation to make improvements so they remain safe and secure for residents (these are separate to housing association properties, such as Abri – previously Silva Homes).  
  • continuing to support the borough’s most vulnerable residents through the on-going council tax reduction scheme

Savings put forward include: 

  • closing the upper decks of Braccan Walk car park for 3 months a year when the car park is quieter to save £9,000 on business rates.  
  • increasing the residents’ parking zone fees by £10 so the scheme becomes self-funding by the end of 2025 to 2026.
  • making sure grounds maintenance work focuses on essential tasks like highway safety rather than appearance-related work to save £15,000 a year
  • increasing the garden waste (brown bins) charge by £5 so the scheme becomes self-funding by the end of 2025 to 2026  
  • reducing the number of parking machines at The Look Out from 8 to 4 to save £4,000 in contract and maintenance costs
  • reducing the number of parking machines in The Avenue car park from 10 to 5 to save £3,000 in maintenance costs and reducing the agreed repair response time at the car park to save £8,000. 
  • looking at options to bring the local discretionary business rate relief system for charities (including regional and national charities based in the borough) closer in line with what other local authorities offer (a separate consultation will run on this proposal, but people can give their general view through the overall budget survey)

Cllr Kathryn Neil, cabinet member for finance and business change, said: 

“Like all local authorities across the country, Bracknell Forest Council is experiencing budget challenges due to increased demand, rising costs and many years of underfunding.

“Generally, we are in a better financial position than most other local authorities and there is no immediate risk of bankruptcy or financial intervention. However, we are still faced with having to make difficult budget decisions, including the possibility of reducing some discretionary services. Our priority is to protect essential and critical services for our most vulnerable residents, for example social care and homelessness.  

“We are not immune to further cost, inflation and service demand rises. This is why creating balanced draft budget plans has been particularly difficult; we’ve had to look very carefully at what we can spend money on and where we may need to make savings.

“We now want to hear what residents think about these draft plans and so I urge you to have your say before 5pm on 22 January. To hear more of your thoughts, we will also be visiting key destinations over the next six weeks to gather your feedback. This will help us refine the budget before it is agreed in February.”

Have your say 

Residents can have their say through the official online consultation.

Give feedback on our 2025 to 2026 budget

Residents are also invited to join a budget drop-in session. These run on:

  • Sunday 15 December - 11am to 3pm at The Lexicon (Princess Square)
  • Tuesday 17 December - 1pm to 3pm at Sandhurst Library 
  • Wednesday 18 December - midday to 4pm at The Lexicon (Princess Square)
  • Monday 6 January - 10am to midday at Ascot Heath Library
  • Wednesday 8 January - 10am to midday at Crowthorne Library
  • Thursday 9 January - 5pm to 7pm at Time Square (Forest Café) 
  • Friday 10 January - 10am to midday at Bracknell Leisure Centre (café)
  • Saturday 11 January - 11.30am to 1.30pm at Owlsmoor Community Centre
  • Sunday 12 January - 10am to midday at South Hill Park (cinema) 
  • Monday 13 January - 6pm to 8pm at Bracknell Leisure Centre (café) 
  • Tuesday 14 January - midday to 2pm at Whitegrove Library  
  • Wednesday 15 January -11am to 1pm at Binfield Parish Offices - The Foxes’ Den Community Café

The budget proposals do not detail the level of possible council tax increase for 2025 to 2026. This will be discussed by the executive in February, as usual.

More information 

The council’s budget is split into 2 - revenue budget and capital budget

The revenue budget covers day-to-day spending. It is mainly financed by council tax, government grants and some business rates. Schools are funded by a specific government grant.

The capital budget covers spending on council ‘assets’ – this includes buildings and roads. It is financed from the sale of assets, government grants, money that developers pay us and borrowing.

If you compare the council’s budget to a household budget, the revenue budget would pay for things like gas, electric and food. The capital budget would pay for something like an extension or new driveway.

Our finances are squeezed due to a range of issues. These include:

  • inflation and price increases
  • extra need for social care services as well as rising demands for other services
  • many years of previous underfunding from central government
  • pressure from services for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

If you need a reasonable adjustment to communicate with us or to complete the survey, please call 01344 352000 or email customer.services@bracknell-forest.gov.uk.