Council Tax increase for 2025

A Council Tax increase of £6.42 a year (for a band D property) has been approved by Wealden District Council.

The 2.99% increase in Council Tax was recommended to Full Council by Wealden’s Cabinet Committee which met earlier in the month. The decision to increase the Council Tax was ratified at today’s Full Council meeting.

This increase means that for households in Band D properties their council tax bill will increase by an additional 12p per week for the 2025/26 Wealden proportion of the Council Tax share, with other bands adjusted according to the Council Tax formula.

Of the total Council Tax bill, Wealden District Council receives only 8.5% of the collected Council Tax, which funds essential services such as waste and recycling collections, planning, street cleaning, environmental protection and free car parking.

The remaining portion of the Council Tax bill supports a variety of public services provided by East Sussex County Council, Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire and Rescue, and local town and parish councils.

Councillor Greg Collins, Alliance for Wealden (Green Party) and lead councillor for Finance, HR and Customer Services, said, "We agreed today to raise Wealden’s share of council tax by 2.99%. Despite everything going on around us, in terms of local government reorganisation, now is not the right time for a Council Tax freeze by Wealden. We would need much more certainty than we have today to implement a freeze. The agreed increase for Wealden amounts to just 12 pence per week for someone living in a band D home. Of course, residents' bills will increase by a much larger amount overall as the other authorities we collect for have raised their Council Tax, some by significantly higher percentages, we cannot control that.

“We looked at Wealden’s finances, and factored in things like the council’s increasing costs from increased Employer National Insurance contributions and decided that this adjustment is essential to ensure we can continue to provide, and improve, high-quality services, maintain public safety, invest in our communities, achieve good value for money, and deliver our strategy of making Wealden a greener, fairer, kinder district.”