A COUNCIL tax increase of 4.7% is on the cards for Bridgend county borough for the coming year as part of revised budget proposals being considered by the council.
It comes as part of the authority’s final budget proposals for the 2026-27 financial year which could see a net revenue budget of just over £408m taken forward.
This money will be used to support the council’s day-to day costs as well as front-line services such as education, social care, refuse collection, and highways maintenance.
It follows the recent settlement from the Welsh Government which means Bridgend County Borough Council’s budget will be increased by 4.6%.
As things stand it would allocate a potential £167m to the Education, Early Years and Young People directorate, £127m to Social Services and £38m for services provided by Communities.
A council tax increase of 4.7% is also held within the plans, which is the equivalent of an extra £1.73 a week on a Band D property.
This has been slightly lowered from an initial 4.95% increase that was anticipated in January 2026.
Despite what was described as one of the most positive budget settlements in years the plans still included pressures of £13.6m as well as necessary reductions worth just over £2.3m.
These are expected to be met with a number of approved savings such as a review of home to school transport and a review of CCTV services across the borough with more funding to be requested from South Wales Police.
It will also include an additional review of how council buildings are being used and what assets could be released, with targeted business efficiencies in social services support services.
There could also be an increase to some fees and charges, with a 10% increase in residential and non-residential social services charges and the cost of emergency road closures rising from £647 to £1,662.
The final proposal was approved by the council’s cabinet at a meeting held on February 17, 2026, following scrutiny.
It also came after a public consultation on the budget which received over 1,200 responses.
This showed that schools and education were the highest priority for people in the borough along with maintaining local roads and pavements.
Other headline figures showed that 73% of people felt reviewing and transforming services was an important consideration, while 51.4% of people felt the council was either not effective or not effective at all at being citizen focused.
The plans will now go for a final discussion and approval at a meeting of full council on February 25, 2026.
It is understood that members of the council’s Independent group will also submit an alternative proposal at the meeting.
