Established in April 2025, with its first elections held in May that year, the Town Council spent its initial year focusing on building strong foundations. The 2025/26 budget, set by North Yorkshire Council, was deliberately modest to allow the new authority time to establish its governance, vision and ways of working.
Over the past nine months, councillors have undertaken a comprehensive strategic planning process. This has resulted in the adoption of a Vision and Values statement, alongside a detailed Action Plan that sets out what the Council aims to achieve over the next 18 months and beyond. The 2026/27 budget is the first to be fully set by Harrogate Town Council itself and provides sustainable funding to begin delivering those priorities.
The Mayor of Harrogate, Councillor Chris Aldred, said the budget marks an important milestone for the Council, enabling it to move from planning into delivery while remaining financially responsible and focused on the town’s long-term future.
Council Tax Precept
The approved precept for 2026/27 is £740,639. For a Band D household, this equates to an annual charge of £26. This remains significantly below the national average Band D town council precept of £92.22 and means Harrogate Town Council continues to have the lowest Band D charge of any precepting town council in North Yorkshire.
The budget supports investment in a range of local priorities, including community events, improvements to allotments, grants for voluntary and community organisations, partnership working, youth provision, civic responsibilities and progress towards securing permanent council offices.
Councillor Paula Stott, Chair of the Finance and General Purposes Committee, explained that while the precept represents an increase on last year’s very low, interim budget, the overall cost to residents remains low in comparison with other towns locally and nationally.
Use of Reserves
As part of the budget-setting process, councillors agreed to make a planned transfer from general reserves. This allows the Council to use part of its forecast underspend from 2025/26 to help fund priorities in 2026/27, rather than passing the full cost on to residents.
Using a proportion of the first-year underspend has been described as a sensible and transparent approach, supporting delivery of key priorities while continuing to build sustainable reserves for the future.
The Mayor added that even with its first full budget in place, Harrogate residents continue to pay less than households in comparable towns, with investment focused on services and activities that matter most to the local community.
Next Steps
The 2026/27 budget and precept will come into effect on 1 April 2026. The budget underpins the Council’s commitment to providing local leadership that is responsive, ambitious and rooted in partnership working — supporting wellbeing, high-quality local services and a thriving Harrogate for residents, businesses and visitors.
What is a council precept?
All local councils are required to set a budget each year. The precept is the difference between the Council’s planned expenditure and its expected income from other sources, such as fees, charges, interest or grants. This amount is collected by North Yorkshire Council as part of the annual Council Tax bill and passed directly to Harrogate Town Council to fund local services and activities.