Havant Borough Councillors have approved the budget for 2025/26, striking a balance between protecting vital services while keeping council tax increases to a minimum.
The budget sets out the council’s spending plans for services in the coming year and the amount of council tax residents will have to pay.
Havant Borough Council collects council tax on behalf of Hampshire County Council, The Police and Crime Commissioner, Fire Service yet only keeps a 11% share of the amount it collects.
During a meeting of the Full Council, members voted to raise the borough’s share of the Council Tax by 2.98%, which at Band D represents £6.94 for the year or less than 14p a week (2pence a day) for the range of services provided by the borough council.
Incorporating £2m of savings, the budget for 2025/26 looks to spend around £19.6million on services for the borough. This includes generating extra income through fees and charges without the need to use reserves.
The council’s gross revenue expenditure on delivering vital services such as kerbside waste collections, administering revenues and benefits, planning services, parks, play areas and open spaces, environmental health and licensing, building control, housing, community services, and enforcement is £67m for the coming financial year.
Of this £19.6m comes from Council Tax receipts, retained business rates, and non-ringfence grants. The remainder comes from operating income from fees and charges and all specific service grants.
The Leader of the Council, Councillor Phil Munday said “Our priority as a council is to ensure we are financially sustainable for the future.
“Ever-growing demands, increased population, rising costs and more than a decade of government austerity have put untold pressure on councils. Despite these difficult financial challenges, we have been working hard to deliver a balanced budget for 2025/26, and we are wholly committed to protecting and delivering services which matter most to residents.
“We are committed to expanding our temporary accommodation provision to tackle homelessness which is a significant concern and financial pressure for us as a council. Investing money across our town centres including £632,000 in Leigh Park and £963,000 in Waterlooville to ensure these areas are fit for purpose now and for future generations.
“Investing significantly in our climate agenda, in line with our Corporate Strategy, to include £284,000 being secured for Electric vehicle infrastructure in car parks across the borough. Additional climate initiatives include money committed to active travel schemes and retrofitting of homes.
“We will continue to invest in our play parks with a commitment of £560,000 for refurbishments next year as well as £2.7m refurbishment of Waterlooville Leisure Centre.
"This council will continue to deliver excellent value for money.”
Havant Borough Council collects all the council tax, but only keeps a 11% share of this.
The remaining 89.2% is then distributed to Hampshire County Council (72.8%); The Police and Crime Commissioner (12.4%); Fire Service (4%). Each of these public service providers makes decisions about its council tax increases independently.
For budget-setting purposes the inflation rate of 1.7%, measured by the Consumer Prices Index, was used from September 2024.
For more information about the Budget, visit the Budgets and spending - Overview page on our website.