Croydon plans a 4.99% council tax rise for 2027/28, about £104 a year on the council's Band D share. What else is in the draft budget, and when to comment.
Croydon Council plans to put up council tax by 4.99% from April 2027. The council says it will keep within the limit the government is expected to set for London boroughs.
The rise is in the council’s draft budget for 2027/28, published on Wednesday ahead of a Cabinet meeting on 14 October. It is made of a 2.99% general increase and the 2% adult social care levy (Croydon Council, 7 October).
What it would cost you
The council has not yet published a pound figure for 2027/28. We worked one out from this year’s bill.
At Band D, the council’s own share of the 2026/27 bill is £2,089.40. That is £1,758.47 for council services plus £330.93 for adult social care (Croydon Council, council tax bands 2026 to 2027). A 4.99% rise on that is about £104 a year, or £2 a week.
Other bands scale from Band D in fixed proportions:
| Band | Rise on the council’s share, per year (our estimate) |
|---|---|
| A | about £70 |
| C | about £93 |
| D | about £104 |
| F | about £151 |
| H | about £209 |
These figures leave out the Greater London Authority precept, which pays for the Met, the fire brigade and transport. The Mayor of London sets that separately, early next year. Our full breakdown of this year’s bill is on our council tax bands page.
“I know household budgets remain under pressure,” said Croydon’s Executive Mayor, Jason Perry. He said the council had “ruled out going above the normal government limit because that would place an unfair additional burden on residents.”
The borrowing problem
Croydon still cannot balance its books on its own. Since 2020 it has relied on Exceptional Financial Support, which lets it borrow from the government to cover day-to-day costs.
The draft plan shows it needs £120.7 million of that support in 2027/28. In February the forecast for the same year was £99.7 million (Croydon Council, draft Medium-Term Financial Strategy, Appendix A). The council forecasts the figure falling to £76.3 million by 2030/31.
Paying for past borrowing is already a large bill. The council puts its net cost of borrowing at £95.8 million in 2027/28, rising to £118.4 million by 2030/31 (Appendix A). The council’s day-to-day service budget for next year is £568 million.
What the council plans to save
The draft lists £29.1 million of savings for 2027/28, against £58.4 million of extra spending pressures such as care costs and inflation (Appendix C, savings and growth proposals). The items residents will notice most include:
- £1.7 million more from parking fees and charges
- £2 million less income expected from parking and traffic fines because of fewer low traffic neighbourhoods (we covered the LTN ruling in September)
- trade waste accepted at the borough’s tips, to earn about £100,000, with longer opening hours
- LED street lights, which the council says will save £1.9 million a year
- £8.9 million of housing savings, mostly from the cost of temporary accommodation and finding more homes to use
Policy changes agreed in principle
A separate list sets out policy changes that Cabinet members have agreed in principle. Most are not yet in the budget figures. The council says they could save a further £6 million to £17 million (Appendix E, policy decision considerations). They include:
- Ending the London Living Wage clause in future contracts with outside providers
- Closing the discretionary disabled Freedom Pass to new applicants. The paper says people who meet the national disability criteria are not affected. It puts the saving at £140,000.
- Means testing families of some children in care. This covers children taken into care under section 20 for reasons the paper calls “family discord”, not safeguarding. Croydon spends about £13 million a year on section 20 cases.
- Charging some families the difference for an independent special school where a state school can show it meets the child’s needs
- No longer taking children into care where the main concern is family homelessness, and finding the family housing instead
- Charging the full cost of pest control
- Selling advertising space on the highways, worth about £1 million
- More enforcement, with a review of fine amounts
These are proposals. None has been decided.
When you can have your say
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Wednesday 14 October | Cabinet discusses the draft at the Town Hall, 6.30pm |
| From Monday 19 October | Six weeks of public engagement on the budget |
| Wednesday 2 December | Cabinet sets fees and charges for 2027/28 |
| Wednesday 10 February 2027 | Cabinet budget meeting |
| Wednesday 24 February 2027 | Full council sets the budget and council tax |
The dates come from the council’s budget timetable (Appendix D). The Cabinet papers are on the council’s meetings site.
What it means for you
- Budget for about £2 a week more at Band D from April, before any change to the GLA share.
- Check whether you get help with your bill. The council is separately consulting on cuts to Council Tax Support until early November. Our guide to that consultation explains who is affected.
- Drivers should expect parking charges to rise. The detail comes with the fees and charges report on 2 December.
- If you use a disabled Freedom Pass, or plan to apply for one, the discretionary route is the one under review. Existing holders should watch for the council’s decision.
- Respond from 19 October. Nothing is final until full council votes on 24 February.
Sources
- Croydon Council: Croydon 2027/28 budget, 7 October 2026 (4.99%, £568m, £95m repayments, LED saving, engagement from 19 October, Mayor’s quotes)
- Cabinet, 14 October 2026: agenda and papers
- Appendix A: MTFS summary 2027-31 (borrowing support, cost of borrowing, February comparison)
- Appendix C: savings and growth proposals
- Appendix D: budget setting timetable
- Appendix E: policy decision considerations
- Croydon Council: council tax bands 2026 to 2027 (Band D split used for our estimate)
Have your say