Cheshire East Council has approved new priorities and financial plans for the next four years, including its budget for the year ahead.
The new Cheshire East Plan 2025-29, adopted by council on Wednesday, 26th February, sets out a new set of commitments for the borough, and the vision "enabling prosperity and wellbeing for all in Cheshire East".
The council also agreed the budget for 2025-26 and financial strategy for the next four years. The budget sets out the council's forecast income, expenditure and savings, proposals for the use of exceptional financial support (EFS) from central government and a 4.99% increase in council tax.
The increase in council tax for Cheshire East Council, which it says is below the referendum limit set by government, is made up of two per cent for adult social care and 2.99 per cent for general purposes. This increase is equivalent to £1.72 per week for a Band D property.
Councillor Nick Mannion, leader of Cheshire East Council said, "Cheshire East is a great place to live, work and visit for many, and has so much potential to be a brilliant place for everyone.
"We are ambitious for our borough – and we know that residents have high expectations of their council. While we cannot promise to deliver everything for everybody everywhere, we know that we need to put the council on a sustainable financial footing so that we can drive improvements and deliver our ambitions for the borough.
"We have had to look at all the options available to us, this includes increasing council tax and we know that this will add financial pressure on residents. If people are struggling with council tax, we provide a council tax support scheme, which can provide a reduction on council tax bills for those on a low income. Information about this can be found on our website.
"Like many other councils, we have asked government for exceptional financial support. Our request has been granted in principle which will help us balance the budget in the shorter term and will help to establish longer-term financial sustainability through investment in transformation and improvement."
Councillor Michael Gorman, deputy leader added "The Cheshire East Plan sets out our ambition for our communities and places. We must maximise the potential of the borough, its communities and businesses to unlock prosperity and wellbeing for all. We need to work well with residents and partners, and we need to get the basics right to help unlock the opportunities at our fingertips.
"We know that to deliver affordable services and support, we need to transform the way the organisation works. £47.1 million of savings and mitigation are planned in 2025/26 alone, including savings from transformation, digital and service redesign, debt and cost recovery, and estates management.
"Finally, I would like to thank the hundreds of people who fed back on our approach to budget setting and who have contributed their ideas to the Cheshire East Plan. Your views have been invaluable in guiding the approach we have taken this year."
