Lewes councillors agree council tax increase

On Tuesday (March 4), Lewes District Council agreed its annual budget for 2025/26, which included a 2.99 per cent increase in the authority’s share of council tax.

This increase will approximately translate to a £234.99 annual charge for a Band D household, although the true figure will vary in different parts of the district as a result of special expenses for parks and open spaces.

Council leader Zoe Nicholson (Green) said the increase was necessary to allow the council to ‘support and invest in the community’.

Cllr Nicholson said: “Our budget tackles some quite big issues that our community is facing and those are: the housing crisis; supporting our residents still through massively tough times; making sure that we deliver the best possible quality service to the residents for their hard-earned council tax; and making sure we lead the way on climate, biodiversity and improving our wider environment.

“We do that despite ongoing challenges in the wider economic situation, not just in the district, not just in the county but in the country, with significant economic stagnation, high borrowing cost rates still and sadly a continued underfunding of local government.

“We’ve managed to deliver a balanced budget that protects our frontline services and also invests in our future place, in our environment and in our people.”

She added: “We’ve had to increase the council tax by 2.99 per cent. As you will see from the papers, that represents 13p per week for the average home. As I say every single year, we don’t take that decision lightly … but without it, it would difficult, if not impossible, for us to be able to maintain the support and investment our communities need.

“At the same time, we’ve made just over £500,000 in efficiency savings, trying to make sure we are doing things as efficiently as possible for our community.”

The budget saw unanimous support from across the chamber.

Cllr Stephen Gauntlett, leader of Liberal Democrat group, said: “I too welcome this budget and want to emphasise that there has been a great deal of care taken by the leader and the deputy leader and the chief finance officer and their team to involve us and me particularly, briefing and involving.

“The priorities, as you said, are the ones that were set out in the corporate plan, which those of us who were around before the last election were party to. So there is no surprise here that we are carrying forward the same good things.”

Cllr Gauntlett went on to stress that Lewes District Council’s share of residents’ overall council tax bill was a “very small” part of the total charge.

Councillors also agreed to continue the authority’s council tax reduction scheme for another year. This scheme provides financial support, in the form of a council tax discount, for the district’s “most disadvantaged working-age residents”.

Deputy leader Christine Robinson (Lab) said: “I am absolutely delighted that this is the fourth year we have been able to roll this over.

“It helps about three-and-half thousand disadvantaged working age residents to meet their council tax liabilities, along 2,000 of those who don’t pay any at all who experience the greatest hardship.”

Council tax bills for Lewes residents include an element of special expenses. This is an area specific charge connected to the maintenance of parks and open spaces.

In some areas of the district such maintenance is carried out by town and parish councils, while in others it is carried out by the district council. To reflect this, the district council charges different residents different amounts.

For example, at the top end, a Band D household in Lewes will pay special expenses of £61.34 in 2025/26 (a £1.76 increase compared to 2024/25). On the other end of the scale a Band D household in Chailey will only pay special expenses of 86p (2p more than the previous year).

Across the district as a whole, the special expenses averages out to a charge of £18.80 per Band D household. When added to the base charge of £216.19, a Band D household in the district will, on paper, pay an average of £234.99 next year. In reality, a Band D household will be charged somewhere between £277.34 and £217.05, depending on where they live.

Residents’ full council tax bills will be far larger, as it will include charges from East Sussex County Council and other authorities.