Bristol city councillors have confirmed a 4.99 per cent council tax rise from April.
The Green-led authority’s budget, comprising £634million for day-to-day services and £232million of capital investments in large projects and city infrastructure, such as houses, bridges and schools, was passed by 42-26 votes, with the Lib Dems in favour and Labour and the Conservatives against.
Just one of the nine amendments tabled by minority parties received support at February’s four-and-a-half-hour meeting – a Lib Dem proposal to bring forward £1million of funding for road repairs by a year, doubling the amount available in 2026/27 – while the rest were rejected.
The budget included nearly £41million in savings to balance the books, but also a series of U-turns announced in January following public consultation, including £270,000 towards reopening public toilets and scrapping cuts to cultural groups.
The council tax rise comprises 2.99 per cent in core spending and two per cent for adult social care,. This is a rise of £129.79 to £2,713.68 for band D households and by £100.94 to £2,110.64 for Band B.
Bristol City Council leader Cllr Tony Dyer (Green, Southville) said: “This budget sets a stable financial position whilst making space to target investment where our city needs it most.
“Our investment plans prioritise the day-to-day services our city relies on – bin collections, road maintenance, street cleansing – and invest to secure high-quality social care services and support our schools to deliver a high standard of inclusive education.
“We plan to continue our efforts to tackle major systemic issues that impact our city’s quality of life.
“Projects to build new homes and support routes out of homelessness will continue to receive millions of pounds of investment.
“Likewise, we have also set out ambitious plans for the ongoing transformation of our transport systems and the decarbonisation of our economy, which will secure long-term economic benefits for Bristol.”
Labour group leader Cllr Tom Renhard (Horfield) said the other parties should be thanking the government for “saving our bacon” with the increase in the council’s core spending power and the introduction of multi-year settlements.
Lib Dem group leader Cllr Jos Clark (Brislington West) said: “We must find £40million in savings next year rising to £70m in 2030/31 just to balance our books.”
She said the latest local government settlement did not cover what councils needed to pay for services and that the burden was being shifted on to local taxpayers.
Conservative group leader Cllr Mark Weston (Henbury & Brentry) said: “We’re not seeing enough spent on road maintenance, parks maintenance, community investment, fixing potholes.
Councillors approved both the ring-fenced schools and housing budgets by 48-0 votes, with 20 abstentions from Labour.
By Adam Postans, Local Democracy Reporting Service