Harrogate Town Council has approved its budget and council tax precept for 2026/27 of £740,639, with over half being assigned to overheads of the town council.
The Town Council was formally established in April 2025, with its first elections held in May 2025. The initial 2025/26 budget was set by North Yorkshire Council and deliberately kept to a minimum, allowing the new authority time to establish itself and develop its priorities.
The Town Council adds a further tax burden of £26 per Band D household.
However, Reform UK has raised serious concerns over Harrogate Town Council’s decision to increase its precept by 105%, more than doubling the charge for a Band D property from £12.73 to £26 and requiring residents to fund a budget of around £740,000 from April.
While it is recognised that this is the town council’s first full budget and that it inherited a baseline from the Charter Trustees, the scale of the increase is difficult to justify to residents already facing sustained cost-of-living pressures.
Much of the budget is focused on administrative and staffing costs, with the remainder spread across a range of broadly defined proposals, with built-in duplication. During the council debate, certain councillors raised concerns about the justification for a 105% increase, highlighting what was described as “fat in the budget”, including a generous contingency fund and £110,226.50 allocated for new council offices.
Reform UK’s position was made clear at the meeting. Reform councillor Mr David Goodall voted against the budget, reflecting concerns about both the scale of the precept rise and the lack of clarity over what nearly three-quarters of a million pounds will tangibly deliver for residents.
Jonathan Swales, Reform UK, said:
As Chair of Reform UK locally, I believe this is a very large sum of public money for outcomes that remain poorly defined. Residents deserve clear explanations of what this additional money will achieve, how priorities have been set, and how success will be measured.
Claims that the precept remains the lowest among town councils in North Yorkshire do not, on their own, justify doubling the charge in a single year. What matters to residents is value for money, transparency, and financial discipline.
Reform UK will continue to scrutinise this budget closely and press for greater clarity and accountability over how residents’ money is being spent.
The Town Council says that the approved budget supports investment in community events, improvements to allotments, grants to local voluntary and community organisations, partnership working, youth provision, civic responsibilities and progress toward securing permanent council offices.
As part of the budget-setting process, councillors agreed to set a budget which includes a planned transfer from general reserves.
The Mayor of Harrogate, Councillor Chris Aldred, Liberal Democrats, said:
This is a landmark moment for Harrogate Town Council.
Our first year was about laying solid foundations; this budget enables us to begin delivering visible benefits for residents while remaining financially responsible and focused on the town’s long-term future.
