Chorley Budget Consultation 2026/27

Overview

Every year, Chorley Council sets a budget that outlines how funding will be allocated to deliver services and support local priorities. We are inviting residents to share their views on how we can achieve our overall vision of:

Enabling strong communities, a resilient economy, excellent services, a greener future and successful people.

As part of the budget-setting process, we are seeking your views to help shape the final budget, which will be considered at Full Council ahead of the new financial year in April 2026.

This is the first part of our budget consultation. We will consult again in January/February 2026, once a draft budget has been agreed.

Chorley Council currently forecasts a budget shortfall of £2.175m for 2026/27. Like many local authorities, we continue to face increasing demand for services and ongoing uncertainty around the future of local government funding. Despite these challenges, we have remained committed to investing in local services and delivering value for our residents.

Chorley Council receives funding from different sources, including Council Tax, business rates, government grants, and income from services such as planning and leisure.

However, it is important to note that most of the Council Tax you pay goes to Lancashire County Council, which is responsible for services like education, roads and social care. The council retains only a small portion to deliver core services such as waste collection, planning and housing support as well as additional services such as business support, community events and social prescribing.

This consultation gives you the opportunity to:

• Provide feedback on how our budget should be distributed across our priorities and commitments.
• Share your ideas for future projects that will help us deliver our priorities and commitments.

Each priority has a set of council commitments which are the specific promises the council makes to deliver its broader priorities. These commitments reflect local needs and what is important to residents.