The Tendring District Council presented its 2026/27 budget proposals on February 2, 2026, to safeguard local services in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex and avoid emergency cuts to frontline services such as waste collection and park maintenance. The proposals were set out at a cabinet meeting as part of the council’s updated Medium-Term Financial Strategy.
Cllr Mark Stephenson, Leader of Tendring District Council, said the authority is in a stable financial position after several years of prudent management — putting it in a different position to some councils that have issued Section 114 notices. He told councillors the council has a smaller deficit than previously feared but must remain disciplined in its spending.
The budget manages the final allocation phase of Levelling Up and Pride in Place funding for Clacton, directing around £19.8 million towards town-centre regeneration and related projects, and it includes provision to re-tender and fund the district’s waste and recycling contract. The re-tendered contract and other operational pressures are among the key cost drivers the budget addresses.
To fund these services the draft budget is built on an assumed 2.99% rise in the Tendring District Council element of council tax. Final council tax decisions will be made at Full Council later this month.
The proposals follow a phased savings plan developed in 2025 and the strategic use of reserves built up from prior-year surpluses. The council says that approach aims to keep local projects moving forward without resorting to emergency service reductions.
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