Important update on your Council Tax

These are just a fraction of the important services the District Council provides for residents across Newark and Sherwood.

Councillor Paul Peacock, Leader of Newark and Sherwood District Council explains, “We run countless services and residents are often surprised when I tell them all that we do.  Irrespective of all the other services we run, I want to focus for a moment on just one, collecting your bins. Each year our fantastic teams collect your bins day in, day out, come rain or shine and it is probably the one service we deliver that everyone comes into contact with. During 2024 / 2025, a band A home paid £2.50 per week to us in Council Tax and a band D home paid £3.75 per week to us in Council Tax and for that you received all our services. Even if you just received our bin collecting service from us, I think this is extremely good value for money.”

Each year Councils up and down the UK are asked to present a balanced budget to ensure it has enough money to deliver all its services and support its communities.  As part of that, each Council is asked to review how much it charges for Council Tax.  For 2025 / 2026, the District Council last night increased Council Tax by 1.94%.

Therefore, during 2025 / 2026, a band A home will pay £2.55 per week to the District Council in Council Tax and a band D home will pay £3.82 per week to the District Council in Council Tax. The 1.94% increase equates to an additional 5p per week on a band A property (which makes up the largest proportion of District Council homes with 41% of properties falling into this band) and an additional 7p per week on a band D property.

Councillor Paul Peacock, Leader of Newark and Sherwood District Council continues,

“I’ve kept a close eye on what is happening nationally with proposed Council Tax increases up and down the UK. A lot of Councils are struggling and have asked the Government for permission to set an increase above the 2.99% increase limit.  We are fortunately not in this position and I am delighted that we will be going against this trend, setting ours at just 1.94%.

“The challenges facing all Councils is as a result of reduced funding from the Government over a number of years, increased demand for our services and the price of goods and services we use to support our residents is also increasing.  In addition, recent increases in inflation means it costs us more to deliver our vital services, it costs more to support those fleeing from domestic violenceit costs us more to keep your parks safe and clean and it costs us more to collect your bins for example.

“We don’t want to increase our portion of your Council Tax, but we have a responsibility to ensure that there is enough money available to us to deliver our vital services which we know residents both want and need.  It would be irresponsible not to plan properly given that we have seen so many Councils up and down the UK face financial difficulties.  We don’t want to end up in a position where we must cut services or can’t support our residents when they need help. 

“In the last 12 months we have achieved great things and are committed to doing the same.  We are leading on flood alleviation proposals for Newark and Sherwood, continuing to reduce ASB and have increased recycling rates across the district. There has never been more demand on our services, we collect more recycling and therefore have more bin collection rounds than ever before and we deliver more workshops and training for businesses than ever before, but we remain committed to ensuring we can deliver our services, helping those who need us the most. 

“Unfortunately, there will be some who will take this as opportunity to criticise what we do but I am incredibly proud of what our Council delivers. I know that if anyone needs our support, we will be there to do all that we possibly can.  If you are fleeing domestic violence, our housing team will help.  If you are made homeless, our homeless team will help.  If you want to extend your home, our planning team can advise.  If you report a fly-tip, we will remove it.  I feel that the services we offer, provide incredibly good value for money, given the small proportion of Council Tax we retain. It really does pay for so very much.” 

For most people in Newark and Sherwood, your Council Tax is made up of five main parts.  Based on a band A property the below shows how much of your 2025/26 Council Tax goes to each organisation:

1. Nottinghamshire County Council receives £1,263.03
2. Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner receives £197.40
3. Nottinghamshire Fire Service receives £64.81
4. Local Parish or Town Council receives £63.84 (on average)
5. Newark and Sherwood District Council receives £132.40

Further information about your Council Tax is available on the District Council website at www.newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk/counciltax