Canterbury's green bin subscription would rise from £65 to £69.50 in April 2027, and council tax by 2.97%. Consultation on the draft budget opens on 11 November.
The garden waste subscription in the Canterbury district would rise from £65 to £69.50 for the first bin from April 2027. A second bin would go up by 14%, from £56.48 to £64.50.
The figures are in Canterbury City Council’s draft budget for 2027/28. Cabinet voted unanimously on Tuesday 3 November to put it out to consultation. The consultation runs from 11 November to 6 January.
The council’s share of council tax would rise by 2.97%. That is £7.56 a year for a band D home. Kent County Council, the police and the fire service set their own shares separately.
What would change on your bills
| Charge | Now | Proposed | Rise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garden waste, first bin | £65.00 | £69.50 | 7% |
| Garden waste, each further bin | £56.48 | £64.50 | 14% |
| New green bin, 240 litres | £42.64 | £43.92 | 3% |
| Bulky waste, one item | £25.00 | £25.00 | None |
| Bulky waste, up to three items | £50.00 | £50.00 | None |
| Roman Museum, adult | £11.00 | £11.00 | None |
| Lifeline, per week | £4.00 | £4.00 | None |
Most other charges the council controls would rise by 3%. Bulky waste, most taxi charges and main museum admissions stay the same. The report says the charges rising faster are mainly being moved closer to what they cost to run, and names land charges and cemeteries among them.
Officers would also be allowed to move cost recovery charges by up to 5% during the year if costs change.
Parking charges would not rise at all, under a separate report on the same agenda.
Why the budget is going up
The council’s net budget would rise from £25.9m this year to £27.5m in 2027/28. Inflation accounts for £1.9m of pressure, including pay, contracts and insurance.
The biggest named additions all concern the waste service or the people who use it:
- £200,000 for maintaining Canenco’s waste vehicles
- £200,000 for fuel costs
- £179,559 for an extra food waste round
- £83,000 for IT
- £19,513 for free collections of batteries and small household items
Councillor Charlotte Cornell told the meeting that batteries in black bins cause two or three vehicle fires a year in the fleet. She said fuel costs had gone up by between 28% and 40%.
The budget also adds £20,000 a year for the new place panels, and £3,000 towards school holiday food packages. There is money for the bid to make Canterbury a UNESCO City of Literature.
The gap and the reserves
The plan is balanced for 2027/28 only by using about £0.4m from the council’s reserves. The report warns that this leaves a less financially resilient council, and that it cannot rebuild reserves on current assumptions.
Freezing council tax would mean finding another £459,000 in 2027/28, which officers do not recommend. The forecast shows a gap of just under £1m in 2029/30, after using reserves.
Councillor Dan Watkins asked Cabinet to consult on a council tax freeze. The council’s leader, Councillor Alan Baldock, said a freeze would shrink the tax base and make losses in later years worse.
What it means for you
- If you pay for a green bin, the rise would apply to the subscription year starting in spring 2027. Our bin collection page has this year’s terms.
- If you have two green bins, your bill would go from £121.48 to £134.
- If you want to comment, the general consultation opens on the council’s website on 11 November and closes on 6 January.
Cabinet considers the responses on 9 February 2027. Full council sets the budget and council tax on 22 February. The government’s limit on council tax rises could still change the figure, the report says. Our council tax bands page has this year’s bills.
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