Residents can now have their say on the council’s proposed budget for 2026 to 2027.
The council’s decision-making cabinet agreed a six-week public consultation on the draft budget at its meeting on 16 December. Residents can give their thoughts and feedback until 27 January.
The proposed budget for 2026 to 2027 looks to protect vital services that residents need, as well as invest in our strong communities so they can evolve and provide additional support to people across Bracknell Forest.
Residents can give their views through the survey on the council’s website or by visiting one of 4 drop-in sessions:
- Friday, 19 December, between 11am and 3pm at The Lexicon community cart (Braccan Walk South)
- Wednesday, 7 January between 10am and 12 noon at Crowthorne High Street (by Costa)
- Friday, 9 January between 10am and 12 noon at Tesco Warfield
- Thursday, 15 January between 6pm and 8pm at Bracknell Leisure Centre
With a predicted funding gap of £10.1 million in 2026 to 2027, the council has taken extra care in planning its budget to make sure essential services such as social care, bin collections and road maintenance are protected.
The financial challenge also presents the opportunity to look at how to provide some services differently - services residents want and need but there is limited or no overall council budget to cover the cost. This would include supporting our already strong communities to evolve, so they are able to offer additional services to people.
The squeeze on the council’s budget has been caused by recent changes to government funding (Fairer Funding Review 2.0) and many years of central government underfunding.
Additionally, rising inflation and the extra demand for essential services, like social care and home to school transport, has also put pressure on the council’s finances. These pressures are likely to continue.
To balance the budget, draft plans show a reduction in spending through things like:
- reducing staffing (mainly through restructures and not replacing employees who leave or retire)
- reducing ICT licences, systems and some software budgets
- reducing the cleaning of street signs
- stopping some professional subscriptions
- reducing the street lighting repair budget
- recommissioning services, revising contracts and agreements and maximising the use of grants and alternative funding
- stopping the annual printed magazine for residents
These reductions alone save more than £1.6 million in 2026 to 2027.
It also details a possible reduction, review or change to some services, subject to the necessary impact assessments, including:
- saving £248,000 by stopping the 299, 598 and 151/151A bus services - these services cost a lot to run and are poorly used in terms of the number of passengers (some single trips cost the council more than £16 each)
- saving £380,000 by rescheduling the kerbside glass collection scheme so it starts in March 2027 instead of autumn 2026
- looking to fund climate change projects through other ways like grants and commercial investment - this will save around £50,000 in 2026 to 2027
- saving £275,000 by reviewing the Better Care Fund Grant with partners in the NHS to prioritise intermediate care and reablement services
The total savings put forward in the draft plans for 2026 to 2027 is £3.3 million.
Additionally, draft plans propose essential investment in buildings and infrastructure, including:
- continuing the planned investment of £2.7 million to maintain and improve highways (including roads, pavements, drainage, bridges and cycle lanes)
- a possible £95,000 investment in play area upgrades
- investing more than £650,000 in local leisure facilities, including the running track at Bracknell Leisure Centre and essential maintenance at Coral Reef Waterworld and Downshire Golf Course
- a £50,000 investment in Bracknell Day Services to create extra space and support for adults with learning disabilities
This investment is primarily through the council’s capital budget, which is made up of specific government grants and contributions from developers as well as some borrowing. It allows the council to maintain and update its buildings and infrastructure (like roads and pavements).
Cllr Paul Bidwell, cabinet member with responsibility for the budget, said:
“We have a significant gap between the money available to spend on services and the costs we face. This is due to recent changes to government funding, years of underfunding by central government, rising inflation and costs, and extra demand for services.
“The draft budget looks at how we can make savings but also where we can start to do things a bit differently, so residents have a wide range of good quality services made available, by the people best placed to provide them.
“This approach makes sure that council tax is spent in the best possible way and reduces pressure on budgets and the demand for services.
“While this will not result in council tax reductions or give the council extra cash, it does mean that fewer services will need to be cut completely. It also means we can make sure that valued services are available – just managed or provided in a different way that could achieve better results for residents.
“We now want to hear what residents think about the budget plans, so it you have comments or feedback, please let us know through the survey or at a drop-in event.”
More information
The draft budget papers set out detailed spending and saving proposals for 2026 to 2027 for both the revenue and capital budgets. They also detail spending and saving themes for the 2027 to 2028 and 2028 to 2029 budgets.
The papers do not detail the proposed level of council tax. As usual, this will be a matter for councillors in February 2026.
