Council tax increase and proposed return of garden waste charge as Council faces £26m shortfall

Trafford Council plans to raise council tax and reintroduce a garden waste collection charge to address a nearly £26m budget gap.

A recent report to councillors outlining the draft budget proposals for 2025/26 highlights the scale of savings needed to balance the Council’s finances. Trafford, like many councils across the country, is grappling with a reduction in government funding over several years, combined with a sharp rise in demand for services, particularly for its most vulnerable residents.

Cllr Tom Ross, Leader of Trafford Council, acknowledged the growing challenges: "Balancing the books is getting harder every year, and councillors now face some tough and unpopular decisions."

He added: “We have suffered more than £300m of cuts over the decade and a half, yet our services are more in demand than ever. This is simply unsustainable, even for a well-run Council like Trafford.”

An independent review by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) recently confirmed Trafford’s financial management is sound but recognised the Council faces long-standing funding difficulties.

Cllr Ross continued: “CIPFA recognised we are a financially well-run council but also recognised the funding issues we face.

“We are the lowest-funded council in Greater Manchester and need a fair deal. We called for a fair funding review last year but this has not happened, and we are now seeing the consequences.”

Council tax is set to increase by 2.99 per cent, with an additional 2 per cent rise for the adult social care precept. Despite the hike, Trafford will still have the second-lowest council tax rate in Greater Manchester.

The Council is also considering reintroducing an annual £45 charge for garden waste collection, a measure first introduced by the previous Conservative-led administration in 2017 but scrapped two years later.

Cllr Ross explained: “It is becoming harder to deliver key services within budget, and so we will consult on reintroducing a charge, in line with the vast majority of other councils across the country and indeed some within Greater Manchester, to help us continue to provide much-needed services across the borough.

“The key thing is that the tough decisions we make now will enable us to continue to deliver services and support us to set a balanced budget next April.”

Residents will be invited to share their views on several draft proposals in the coming weeks. However, Cllr Ross emphasised that without additional funding, there is no easy solution.

“This will be one of the toughest revenue budgets the Council has ever set, and we are having to make some difficult choices. However, we will continue to invest in our corporate priorities, including an increase in social care spending for our most vulnerable children and adults.

“We will continue to invest in roads and street cleaning. We will also maintain our capital investment projects in our town centres to deliver a thriving economy for all.

“We will also continue to lobby the Government for a fairer financial settlement for Trafford.”

The budget report will be discussed by the Council’s Executive Committee on Monday, 21st October.