Councillors set balanced budget to deliver key priorities in Exeter

City Councillors have set a balanced budget which will enable the authority to deliver on its priorities for the year ahead.

At the annual Council Budget meeting at the Guildhall, Council Leader Phil Bialyk said consultation with residents and communities had helped to shape the proposals.

The city council’s share of an average band D Council Tax bill for 2026/27 is £191.31 - 7.6% of the total. It has increased by 2.99 per cent or £5.55 a year – around 11p a week.

Cllr Bialyk said: “We have continued to deliver excellent services of residents and communities in the city. Despite everything we do as a local authority, Exeter continues to set one of the lowest Council Tax rates in the country.

“After years of tough and difficult decisions, we are in an enviable position of not having to cut services for the remaining life of this Council.”

Cllr Bialyk said the budget demonstrated how the Council is delivering on its key priorities:

Supporting residents through the cost of living

Leading on climate action

Building more council homes

Protecting green spaces

Investing in culture and leisure

Running a stable, well-led council

Councillors heard that a number of major projects were expected to get underway over the next year.

The council is planning to expand and relocate the Materials Reclamation Facility (MRF), progress plans for a new Wonford Community and Learning Centre, and relocate the Civic Centre to the Council-owned Senate Court offices in Southernhay.

The Leader also announced the creation of a new temporary fund to enable residents and community groups to improve their neighbourhoods.

The council is putting £130,000 into Pride in Exeter – the equivalent of £10,000 for every ward – to be spent on tidying, cleaning and improving areas in the city.

Residents and community groups will be encouraged to apply for things like fixing broken fences, clearing overgrown spaces, removing excessive weeds and general small repairs and tidying and general improvements.

Cllr Bialyk said: “Exeter is already a clean and tidy city, but with more resources there’s always more than can be done. The work will be carried out by our dedicated teams at the Council, in conjunction with community groups where appropriate.

“This extra resource is in addition to all the usual cleansing operations the Council carries out – it is extra resource for non-essential but important work that improves the quality of life for residents in our communities. It is about having pride in our city, to ensure that Exeter continues to look the best it can be.”

In his budget speech, Cllr Bialyk also highlighted achievements over the past year, including:

• £526,300 awarded to 4,848 households to help with the cost of living
• Retrofitting 152 council properties, bringing the total in the city to 1,250
• Increasing membership of Exeter Leisure to 13,6461 - a 16 per cent rise on last year
• Increasing casual leisure users to 64,429 – a 20 per cent rise on last year
• Welcoming 800,000 swimmers to the council’s pools
• Collecting 99.9% of waste was successfully
• Continuing food waste collections – now rolled out to around 44,000 homes
• Cleaning up 629 cases of graffiti
• Planting 799 trees
• Investigating 877 noise complaints

Following the budget, the overall bill for a band D property in Exeter for 2025/26 will be £2,495.36 - an increase of £109.91 or 5.01%. 

The breakdown of this charge is:

Devon County Council - £1,891.17

Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner - £303.20

Exeter City Council - £191.31

Devon and Somerset Fire Authority - £109.68

Cllr Bialyk added: “Our share of the council tax bill is £191.31 – that’s £3.67 a week. I think that is pretty good value for a city which does so much, and we will continue to ensure that we provide the very best services we can for the benefit of everyone in Exeter.

“As people will be aware, Exeter City Council will be replaced by a new unitary authority in 2028 under plans for local government reorganisation.

“Our legacy will be handing over this authority in a sound way. Under our leadership Exeter has thrived in the past, and I know that it will continue to thrive in the future.”