Council tax is set to increase in Woodley to pay for town services and community facilities.
Council tax in Woodley is set to rise to pay for town services and community facilities.
Woodley Town Council is a precepting body that collects council tax to maintain places such as the Oakwood Centre, Woodford Park and leisure centre, and Coronation Hall. Other precepting bodies in the town are Wokingham Borough Council, Thames Valley Police and the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service.
Councillors are considering a rise after keeping the precept frozen for three years. A report by the council's financial officer suggested an increase is likely following this year’s freeze.
The report states: “In February 2025, the council set a budget for the current (2025/26) financial year that was supported by a 0 per cent rise in precept, with net expenditure funded from the General Reserve.
“As indicated in the relevant budget papers at the time, this decision was forecast to result in the requirement for an increase in precept of around 11 per cent in 2026/27 to maintain what was then determined to be an adequate general reserve level of around £500k.”
Councillors were given four scenarios to spread increases over three years and debated them at the council's strategy & resources committee.
Councillor Keith Baker (Conservative, Coronation East) said a balance must be struck between tax rises, spending cuts and reserves and argued for keeping a reserve of four and a half months' net expenditure, amounting to £559,221.
Options discussed included a flat rise of 8.75 per cent or 9.75 per cent for three years, or a 5.8 per cent rise in 2026/27 with higher increases afterwards.
Cllr Juliet Anderson (Conservative, Coronation Central) said: “If you have a figure in your head, that with the best will in the world, we genuinely don't think we have the cheek to go back and ask people for more, then that helps to constrain it.”
Cllr Kay Gilder (Conservative, South Lake) argued the council should tell residents how much rises will cost per month rather than in percentages. She said: “Most people want to know how much it's going to cost them a month, not 10, 12, 15 per cent.
“Because of the small amount that Woodley gets per household, just over £100 a year, 10 per cent of that isn't really very much compared to the 10 per cent from Wokingham Borough Council, which is £2,000 odd.
“So I think that people are more interested in actually how much money it's going to cost rather than a percentage. I think percentages seem to blur things, don't they?”
Cllr Mike Kennedy (Conservative, Bulmershe) outlined scenario two, which would have increased the tax by 5.8 per cent in 2026/27, with an 11.1.5 per cent increase for 2027/28 and 2028/29. He said: “If I was to go to my next-door neighbour and say your precept is going up by 5.8 per cent, but actually, we've got £600,000 sitting in earmarked reserves, which is like saying to my neighbour you can't spend £10,000 on your new car because you're sitting on £25,000 in your bank account. It just doesn’t square with me.
“Why are we sitting on £600,000 in reserves?”
Councillors unanimously chose to recommend scenario three: a flat 9.75 per cent increase in council tax each year from 2026/27 to 2028/29. That would equate to monthly rises of 87p, 95p and £1.04 in each of those years.
The recommendation was made at the meeting on December 16, 2025. A final decision will be taken at a full council budget meeting in February.
James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter
