The budget engagement period closes 21st November 2025. Please ensure any feedback, comments and questions have been submitted by this date.

This year, we are holding public engagement on our budget for the first time. The aim of this is to receive input from the community to inform the final decisions which will be made on our budget in December and January.

In local government, the financial year runs from 1st April to 31st March. Our budget process starts in August each year when we begin to prepare estimates for our year end position and identify budget requirements based on the commitments in our strategic plan, planned activity and commitments. During September/October, each budgeting holding committee considers a draft budget and recommends it to our Finance Committee. This is the stage we are now at; each committee has agreed its draft and this engagement process is on these committee drafts.

In December, our Finance Committee will review the budgets and output from this engagement and agree recommendations to the January Full Council meeting which sets our budget and our precept (the amount we collect as part of council tax).

As part of this engagement process we are publishing:

  • Draft Budget – this is a report from our finance system which compares the previous (2024/25) financial year with our spending and projected spending to date. It also includes our draft allocations for budgets in 2026/27.
  • Budget Explained – which talks you through each part of our budget explaining what it is for, relevant information and key changes
  • Band D Monthly Spend – this provides a summary overview of how the monthly amount we would collect in the council tax would be spent

OUR BUDGET 2026/27

The headlines of our draft 2026/27 budget are:

  • Total budget expenditure of £1,121,082
  • Total planned reserves of £474,334
  • Precept (council tax) requirement of £877,630
  • Band D council tax payment increase of £9.89 to £142.84 per year
DRAFT BUDGET EXPLAINED
DRAFT BUDGET 2026/27
BAND D MONTHLY SPEND
SHARE YOUR FEEDBACK

BUDGET CONVERSATIONS

Join us for one of our budget conversation events, where we will present the budget and take questions from residents:

  • 4th November at 7pm in Knutsford Market Hall
  • 12th November at 1pm in Knutsford Market Hall
  • 12th November at 7pm via Zoom

To register for the Zoom event, click here.

“This is the first time we have held public engagement on our draft budget, and we would greatly value our resident’s input as part of this process”

“The amount residents pay to the Town Council is just a small part of their council tax, but with that we are able to deliver some great outcomes for the community, from our Town Rangers tackling pavement weeds, to delivering events like the upcoming Pumpkin Path which bring the community together.”

“This consultation is purposefully open and we don’t have any binary do you support this or that questions. Any comments, input and feedback residents want to share is welcome whether that is via our website, or in person at our budget conversation events”.

– Cllr Matthew Robertson, Finance Committee Chairman

 

A poster explaining the amount paid each month across different services

HOW THE £11.90 PER MONTH WOULD BE SPENT

OUR ASSETS

£1.96

This includes planned building work, the public toilets, our cemetery and chapel as well as other small properties/grounds we manage.

CENTRAL COSTS

£4.72

This includes civic costs, central staff costs and funds put into reserves for future planned expenditure.

COMMUNITY SERVICES

£5.23

This includes our town rangers service, community grants and projects, town centre, tourism and community events

COUNCIL TAX EXPLAINED

The council tax households pay is made up of four amounts which are collected by  Cheshire East Council as one payment. When referring to how much council tax a household pays, we refer to the Band D amount. This is the annual payment from an average house. Those in cands A-C will pay less, those in bands E-H will pay more.

In 2025/26 the Band D for a household in Knutsford was £2386.99:

  • Cheshire East Council – £1,882.04 (79%)
  • Cheshire Police – £276.94 (12%)
  • Cheshire Fire – £95.09 (4%)
  • Knutsford Town Council – £132.92 (6%)

The four amounts are set independently by four bodies: Cheshire East Council (which is limited to a 5% increase each year), Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner (which is limited to a £14 increase on the Band D), Cheshire Fire Authority (which is limited to a £5 increase on the Band D) and Knutsford Town Council (which is not subject to a limit).

TOTALS TO TAXES

Each year, the taxbase for the area is recalculated by Cheshire East Council – this is the equivalent number of Band D properties paying council tax in an area. This number can vary based on new build housing, individual changes in circumstances etc. The taxbase for 2025 was 6,144.16. The amount paid by a household in council tax is the total to be raised divided by the taxbase, for example if the precept was £6,144 each house would pay £1 per year.

Here are some examples of the impact of increasing/decreasing our expenditure on the annual council tax:

  • £10,000 = £1.63
  • £25,000 = £4.07
  • £100,000 = £16.28

YOUR FEEDBACK, COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS

Contact information is collected to enable us to provide a response to any questions and comments at the end of the engagement period. Information will be processed in accordance with our Data Protection Policy, see our privacy statement here.