Southend-on-Sea City Council has published its draft budget proposals for 2026/27, setting out plans that prioritise social care, regeneration, frontline services and long-term investment across the city.
The draft Southend budget 2026/27 focuses on protecting vulnerable residents, maintaining essential services, regenerating key assets and investing in highways, housing and open spaces. Cabinet councillors are due to discuss the proposals at their meeting on 19 January, covering items 7 to 9 on the agenda.
Children’s social care is set to receive the largest single funding increase in the budget, with more than £5m of additional investment to help manage sustained growth in demand. Adult social care will also see a significant uplift, supported in part by the ring-fenced adult social care precept.
Safeguarding services remain a core element of the proposals. All library services and family centres are expected to remain open, alongside plans to invest in additional staff for libraries and museums. The draft budget includes £125k for Planetarium upgrades and £200k to improve footpaths and cycleways in parks.
Housing investment forms a major part of the budget. An additional £12.2m is proposed for the Decent Homes fund, on top of the existing £21.018m programme. The council also plans to allocate £7.7m through the Warmer Homes fund to improve energy efficiency in council housing, £2.6m for disabled adaptations, and £2.364m to upgrade and replace lifts in housing blocks.
The council’s £100m commitment to deliver new council housing for local people is set to continue, alongside essential infrastructure improvements. Measures to keep everyday costs down include freezing all pay and display parking charges, holding pier admission fees at current levels, reducing garden waste collection charges and continuing to freeze or reduce cremation fees.
Infrastructure investment remains a priority, with £30.3m of capital and revenue funding proposed for highways services. This follows record investment for a second consecutive year and is intended to address potholes, support reliable bus services and improve pavement safety. A further £3.8m of capital funding is planned for pier infrastructure, alongside the rollout of electric vehicle charging points across the city.
The draft budget also sets out new savings and increased income proposals totalling £6.125m. An additional £1m is earmarked for parks and open spaces, with further investment planned for the High Street and allotments, subject to viable business cases. Roles linked to outdoor sports coordination and tackling empty homes will continue, with posts prioritised for care leavers or apprenticeships.
Funding is also proposed for civic pride initiatives, including £50k for street scene improvements and additional support for cultural events. This includes City Jam and the return of Southend City Day on 7 March 2026, backed by an increased events budget.
The proposals are funded through a combination of increased government funding, new grants, higher income and a proposed council tax increase of 4.99 percent. This consists of a 2.99 percent rise for general use and 2 percent for adult social care, which will be considered by Cabinet as part of the Southend budget 2026/27 process.
Cllr Daniel Cowan, Leader of the Council, said: “I am proud to be proposing another budget that invests in Southend, our people, local services, infrastructure, cultural assets, and open spaces despite ever-increasing demand for adult and children’s social care. This has been another tough budget-setting process, and we’ve had to carefully balance the priorities and needs of the city, but I am pleased that we have been able to protect our most vulnerable groups while continuing to safeguard services.
“Through our clear vision and Civic Pride priorities, we have presented a budget that not only maintains investment in universal, frontline services, such as Highways and parks, but also supports projects that make Southend a great place to live, visit, and invest in.
“Whilst the financial environment remains challenging, we are being realistic about what we need to spend and taking action to reduce pressures in the long term. To protect services and maintain financial sustainability we regrettably must increase council tax but even with the proposed rise, Southend will remain among the lowest council tax rates in Essex and in the bottom third nationally.
“Residents want to see value for money after many years of council tax rises accompanied by service cuts under previous administrations which is why we are continuing to invest in services to build them back up and freezing or reducing costs of services like parking and garden waste collection.”
The draft Southend budget 2026/27 will be considered by Cabinet on Monday 19 January, the Policy and Resources Scrutiny Committee on Thursday 29 January, and Full Council on Thursday 20 February.
