At a meeting of Mid Devon District Council’s Full Council, Members set the budget for the financial year 2026/27 including the District Precept for Council Tax.

Next financial year the average Band D property will pay £246.29 to Mid Devon District Council, an increase of 2.99%, which is equivalent to less than 14 pence per week.

The amount of money the District Council receives is one small element of a household’s Council Tax Bill, with the other elements comprised of precepts from Devon County Council, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority, Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner and the household’s local Town or Parish Council if applicable.

This means an average Band D household’s total Council Tax Bill will rise from £2,521.17 in 2025/26 to £2,656.41, an increase of 5.36%.

Leader of the Council, Luke Taylor, said:

“Once again setting a balanced budget has been a difficult task, made even more challenging by the uncertainty about government funding until very late in the budget setting process. Along with many district councils, the shift in the governments focus away from rural funding has led to another reduction in funding. Despite these challenges once again we have a balanced budget that maintains our high-quality service levels and enables us to deliver our priorities of providing more affordable housing, reducing our impact on the climate and growing our local economy.”

The Council has a duty to provide statutory services such as waste collection, recycling and street cleansing, homelessness provision and planning. It is also committed to providing non statutory services for our residents which include investment in leisure, the provision of parks and open spaces and community development grants.

The Council Tax collected is used, in part, to fund these services and details of the allocated 2026/27 budget are detailed in the table below.

Mid Devon	2025/26 £m	2026/27 £m	Movement
Total gross budget	61.576	62.865	2.1%
Housing	30.169	30.846	2.2%
Transport	0.922	0.952	3.3%
Environment	10.089	10.161	0.7%
Planning	5.093	5.231	2.7%
Recreation and tourism	7.011	6.966	-0.6%
Other	5.590	5.402	-3.4%
Parish precepts*	2.702	3.307	22.4%

*The percentage increase reflects the overall increase in the quantum of the Precept requested by Parishes and does not reflect the movement in individual Parish Band D charges.

A number of these gross service costs are also paid, in part, from fee income in areas such as Leisure, Waste, Car Parking and Planning. The net cost of running the Council is funded by the below income streams:

Income Stream	2025/26 £m	2026/27 £m	Movement
Total Income Budget	61.576	62.865	2.1%
Housing rents/charges	29.446	29.510	0.2%
Government funding*	1.593	5.180	225.2%
Business rates*	5.061	2.304	-54.5%
Council tax**	7.349	7.679	4.5%
Other	18.127	18.192	0.4%

*The significant swing between Government Grants and Business Rates is largely due to the changes in how the Council is funded by Government. The c£3m historic growth in Business Rates income has been built into the grant funding with Business Rates income being reset.

**The increase in Council Tax also reflects the movement in collection rate and growth in the taxbase, along with the increase in the Band D charge.

Full details about Council Tax charges for 2026/27 as well as previous years can be found here.