📊 Eccleshall Parish Council Precept 2026/27 – What It Means for You

💬 Why do we need to increase the precept?

To keep essential services running and ensure financial stability after several unexpected cost pressures this year that has depleted the reserves further than originally planned.

📌 Key cost pressures

• Planning-related work
  Unplanned expenditure of up to £10,000 has been allocated to ensuring robust and professional responses to large planning applications to defend against excessive speculative large scale housing development.
• Neighbourhood Plan Update
  Government grant funding has been withdrawn for the upcoming Neighbourhood Plan Review, which is essential for alignment with the emerging Local Plan, so this must now be met in full by council funds. The funds that were
• Insurance Premiums
  There has been a sharp rise after the end of the previous long-term agreement.
• Increase service provision costs from our contractors
  Cost increases from providers passed onto the parish council.

➡️ There has been approximately £13,000 in additional essential expenditure that has taken a toll on our existing reserves in 2025/26.

📈 The agreed precept

£98,000 for 2026/27, compared to £84,200 in 2025/26.

💷 What the precept figure means for each household

Example for a Band D Property:

Precept increase shown on your Council Tax Bill: 15.9%
But the actual impact is smaller than implied – £5.91 per year, or 49p per month

≈ less than the cost of one second class stamp per month, which is 87p.

🛡️ Why this matters

This increase helps the Parish Council:

• Maintain essential local services
• Meet new responsibilities that may emerge from the proposed Local Government restructure
• Replace funds used for unplanned costs
• Restore reserves to safe levels
• Reduce long-term financial risks