Basildon Borough Council in Essex has confirmed it will freeze its portion of council tax for the 2026-2027 year. This decision means the borough’s share of the bill for a Band D home will stay at £304.56 to help residents dealing with rising living costs.
While the borough has kept its rates the same, households will still see their total bills increase. Essex County Council recently approved a 3.95 per cent rise, which includes a specific 2 per cent charge to pay for adult social care. Bills will also be affected by price increases from the local police and fire services.
Council Leader Gavin Callaghan said the freeze is a way to protect people from higher bills, though he argued that the way local government is organised needs to change. He suggested that moving to a single-tier system would remove the county council level and prevent further tax rises. However, he noted that the push for this change is now over following recent government decisions.
This follows an announcement on February 16, 2026, where the UK Government confirmed that local elections in Basildon must go ahead this May. The council had previously asked to postpone the vote to focus on restructuring the local authority, but officials have now ordered the elections to proceed as originally planned.
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