The Winchester Town Forum met on 11 September 2025 and discussed the financial planning for the Winchester Town Account, as well as receiving an update on Winchester bus services. The forum noted the financial projections for the Town Account and agreed to the budget timetable for 2026/27.

Winchester Town Account Financial Planning

The Winchester Town Forum reviewed the financial position of the Winchester Town Account and financial projections for the medium and long term. The aim of this review was to support the development of a refreshed financial strategy and final budget recommendations in January 2026.

Councillor Kelsie Learney, Cabinet Member for the Climate and Nature Emergency, presented the report, which included financial projections up to 2029/30 and a sensitivity analysis showing a range of possible scenarios.

The report noted that in January 2024, the forum increased the target reserve level from 10% to 15% of net baseline expenditure, and that the precept¹ was increased by 5.5% in 2025/26 to support this increase and address budget pressures.

A corporate governance review has commenced to determine whether to set up a town council from April 2027. The budget projections in Appendix 1 of the Winchester Town Account Financial Planning 2025/26 report are based on the current town account, which will remain in place for the 2026/27 budget setting.

Community Infrastructure Levy

The closing town Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)² reserve balance stood at £827,000 at the end of March 2025. The following budgets and commitments are currently planned to be funded from Town CIL, totalling £553,000:

• North Walls Pavilion: £495,000
• Abbots Barton and Hyde Scouts Facility: £50,000
• KGV Park Plan: £8,000

Based on historic receipts, around £150,000 to £200,000 of town CIL is expected per annum.

Updated Medium Term Forecasts

The budget forecast has been updated to reflect:

• The latest inflation forecast of 3% per annum from 2026/27.
• The final precept increase of 5.5% for 2025/26, up from a budgeted 3%.
• Forecasts now reflect the 2024/25 outturn and revised capital programme profiling/timing.

The refreshed forecasts show that, based on current estimates, the target reserve balance of 15% of net expenditure can now be met, but this is before any additional expenditure pressures.

Identifying Resources

The 2025/26 tax base is 15,142.60 with a precept of £90.08. Council Tax Referendum limits for 2026/27 will be announced alongside the settlement. For modelling purposes, it is currently anticipated that this will remain at up to 3% for lower tier authorities.

Fees and charges are reviewed annually and feed into the budget setting process. The key existing fees and charges relating to the Town Account are:

• Cemeteries: an income budget of just under £150,000 supports annual expenditure of just over £245,000.
• Open Spaces (including sports pitches and tennis courts): expenditure of around £1.1 million per annum is supported by income of just under £150,000.

The following central case assumptions have been used in the financial forecast:

Capital Expenditure

Capital expenditure is either funded directly from the Town Account Earmarked Reserve, external funding such as CIL, or through the General Fund and repaid over the life of the asset (along with interest).

The following budgets are currently included within the capital programme:

• Changing Pavilion North Walls: funded by Town CIL of £495,000 and S106 Open Space funding of £179,000.
• Play Area Refurbishments: £460,000 from 2025/26 to 2029/30.
• CIL project budgets for KGV Park Plan, with £8,000 of budget remaining for 2025/26.

Reserves

The Winchester Town Account earmarked reserve is available to support planned one-off expenditure over the medium term, as well as a contingency balance of 15% of the total annual net expenditure, which is set aside to deal with any urgent or unexpected requirements.

Winchester Bus Services

The forum received a verbal update on Winchester bus services.