A group of councillors sat around a table with an audience

Council sets 2025/26 budget

Knutsford Town Council has set its annual budget for the 2025/26 financial year, with a gross expenditure of £1,036,291. The precept, which is collected as part of council tax, has been set at £816,860 meaning a Band D household will pay £11.08 per month to fund the work of the Town Council, an increase of £1.09 per month on the 2024/25 amount.

The Town Council is responsible for a range of services and activity to support the local community, including:

  • Community grants and funding services like Citizens Advice
  • Community events such as the Music Festival, Pumpkin Path, Christmas Light Switch with new events Paint Knutsford and an outdoor cinema event planned for 2025
  • Maintaining local assets such as Knutsford Cemetery, Wallwood, Public Toilets, Higher Town Green and the Library Gardens
  • Delivering the Town Ranger service, including this year hiring an apprentice
  • Managing Knutsford Market Hall which is currently undergoing a refurbishment

Following funding for the first stage design of an active travel path from the Moor to Parkgate Lane, the council has allocated just under £40,000 to develop the technical design which will enable it to then seek funding for the delivery of the path.

Staffing costs have increased both due to the changes in employer national insurance contributions, which unlike Cheshire East Council the Town Council is not compensated for, and investment in a new staffing structure which will enable the council to deliver its ambitious strategic plan for the community whilst ensuring the council’s core administration is resilient.

The budget also makes provision for taking proposals for a Business Improvement District through to a referendum with local businesses, which could see an additional £2m investment managed by an independent board of traders over a five-year period to support the vitality of the town centre as a place to do business.

“Every penny in our budget is spent on Knutsford, from running events that bring the community together to undertaking small projects that make the town more special such as delivering our Nature Action Plan or celebrating our heritage” said Town Mayor Cllr Colin Banks.

“With the continued reduction in service levels from Cheshire East Council we are finding it more and more necessary to take care of things locally, and our budget enables us to work to make Knutsford a better place to live, work, visit and do business”

The full council budget can be found at: www.knutsfordtowncouncil.gov.uk/council/finance

Fingerposts pointing to Knutsford Heritage Centre

Households to pay just £9.99 per month for council services

At a meeting of the Full Council, the Town Council set its precept for 2024/25 at £719,511, meaning a Band D household will pay £9.99 per month towards the services delivered by Knutsford Town Council.

The Town Council’s budget covers the delivery of a range of services from supporting community organisations to maintaining public toilets.

Over the next year the council will be introducing its first apprenticeship when it employs an apprentice town ranger. The new apprentice will complete a horticultural qualification whilst learning from the council’s experienced town ranger and cemetery groundskeeper and enable the town ranger service to complete more of the tasks that “somebody” should do. 

The Town Council has also allocated a small budget for the delivery of new youth and community services/activity which will be shaped by consultation with young people in the coming months. The council will continue to ensure Knutsford has a regular Citizens Advice service and the town centre is monitored by CCTV to ensure safety and security of residents, businesses and visitors. The council will also continue to maintain an award winning cemetery and public toilets, support nature conservation and biodiversity, provide an annual programme of Christmas displays and deliver events designed to support the local economy and bring the community together.

Heritage remains a key focus for the Town Council too, with the budget providing for the creation of a Conservation Area guide to support the enhancement of the heritage of the Legh Road Conservation Area following the pending approval of the new appraisal and management plan for this space. The council will also be working with partners to host events as part of the Heritage Open Days festival in September and commemorate D-Day in June.

In setting the budget, the council considered the great uncertainty presented by Cheshire East Council’s budget challenges which may see funding withdrawn or reduced for leisure centres, library, green space management, street cleaning and more. Concurrently, the Town Council had been asked to consider funding The Welcome and Knutsford Heritage Centre. The budget sets aside £100,000 to enable the council to appraise what community services it may need to contribute to or take on to safeguard for the town.

Town Mayor Cllr Peter Coan said “We are committed to ensuring our town thrives and residents are able to access the facilities and services needed to support a healthy and vibrant community. This budget ensures we can continue to deliver for the town and, should it be necessary, safeguard services that may otherwise be lost. Every penny we raise is spent supporting Knutsford”

The approved budget is available on the Town Council website at: www.knutsfordtowncouncil.gov.uk/council/finance.