Ealing Council’s new budget sets out plans to invest in boosting pride in the borough’s streets, residents’ security, tackling antisocial behaviour, and greater support for activities for young people.
The council’s draft budget for 2026/27 was published last night (Tuesday 3 February).
It will be discussed at a meeting of the council’s cabinet on Wednesday 11 February and is due to be finalised at a meeting of the full council on 3 March.
Clean streets
Proposed investment in keeping streets clean includes £510,000 to fund the introduction of Tidy Teams to act as a fly-tipping ‘hit squad’, and several measures to make it easier for residents to dispose of rubbish cleanly and safely.
These include £540,000 for piloting a new touring neighbourhood household reuse and recycling service, and for reducing the cost to residents of garden waste and bulky waste collections.
There is also a plan to introduce highly visible, and uniformed, street enforcement officers.
Keeping you safe
Investments proposed for tackling antisocial behaviour include £860,000 for 50 new mobile CCTV cameras and a £600,000, 3-year investment in street lighting improvements.
The council intends to follow up on successful work on removing abandoned cars and tackling unregistered housing in multiple occupancy (HMOs) with increased activity in these 2 areas.
The draft budget also allocates funding for 50 new alley-gating schemes to prevent antisocial behaviour.
Getting outdoors
There are proposals for investment in activities for young people with £1.6million for the refurbishment of playgrounds in the borough and extra funding for floodlighting to extend use of sports facilities through autumn and winter. There are also proposals for 3 new play zones, in Greenford, Perivale and Northolt. This is on top of 2 play zones currently planned for Southall and Acton.
‘Safe, clean and fair’
Council leader Peter Mason said: “Residents tell us they want a borough that is safe, clean and fair. The council is listening and this budget supports that vision. We are investing in keeping streets clean, tacking antisocial behaviour and giving young people things to do.
“We know that the cost of living remains a major issue for residents and I am proud that we are supporting them by continuing to invest in our council tax support scheme at a time when others are making savings.”
‘An efficient council’
Councillor Steve Donnelly, the council’s cabinet member for an inclusive economy, added: “We are only able to make these proposals for investment because we have run an efficient council year after year. Council tax will rise by 2.99% with the extra 2% social care surcharge as well. This means it is around £175 lower than it would have been if it has simply risen in line with inflation since 2010, despite rising demand for our care services and temporary accommodation.
“We will continue to set one of the lowest council taxes in the country –– and the second lowest in outer London. This draft budget continues to support the growing demand for children’s and adults’ social care, for transport for children with special education needs, and for residents in temporary accommodation.
“Our plan for the coming 3 years will be to identify opportunities to invest to save in these services, looking at different ways of reducing demand. The extra funding for our family service, helping families with problems before they become a crisis, is a good example of that.”
