Sandy Town Council to increase its slice of council tax by 3.5%

At a full council meeting last month the town council agreed to increase its budget for 2026-2027 by £42,811.

The precept requirement for the upcoming year has been agreed at £776,215, which equates to £186.68 a year for a Band D property, or £12.11 a week.

This is an increase of £6.31 or 3.5 per cent on current annual tax charges.

The budget and precept were both unanimously voted through by councillors, with the budget being increased in order to cover all current services while also considering expected rising tariffs for utilities.

Sandy Town Council said it was making provisions for extra costs in 2026-2027 in order to preserve services previously funded by Central Bedfordshire Council, citing the example of salt to enable pavements around Market Square to be gritted.

In a statement the town council said: "The council recognises the importance of providing a best value service and keeping costs down, and as such, service providers and contracts are continually reviewed to ensure best value.

"It is likely that with Central Bedfordshire Council’s ongoing and significant budget deficit challenges more services will fall to the town council to fund in the future, and Sandy Town Council is continuing to explore ways to raise income to protect those services."

Have you got a story you want to share with our readers? You can now send it to us online via YourWorld at https://www.yourworld.net/submit/ It's free to use and, once checked, your story will appear on our website and, space allowing, in our newspapers.