Redbridge Budget survey 2025/26 please tell us your views

We've just launched our budget survey, and we want your views on what matters most, and how we can keep our communities safe and healthy and keep our borough clean, green, and welcoming.

We want to inform you about the difficult decisions we, Redbridge Council, will make when prioritising spending to keep vital services running while balancing a squeezed budget.

More than a decade of Government austerity has significantly impacted Redbridge.

The Council has lost over 54p for every £1 of government grant funding, resulting in over £150m less to spend on local services every year.

Despite the challenges of rising inflation, increasing demand, and reduced government funding, Redbridge Council is innovating to continue delivering with less and protecting the vital services that matter most to local people.

Important points to consider:

• Government grant funding for Redbridge has been cut by over half, meaning the Council now receives less than 50 percent of the funding we received in 2010.
• Redbridge is one of the lowest-funded councils in London, the third lowest out of the 32 London Boroughs.
• The housing crisis in Redbridge is reaching a critical point, with over 8,000 people on our council house waiting list.
• Last year alone, temporary accommodation cost Redbridge Council £52 million, which is simply unsustainable in the long run.
• Seventy-five percent of our annual budget is for services to help protect our most vulnerable adults, children and young people.
• We are only able to keep 30 percent of the Business Rates we collect.
• We can fund some projects with additional grants, such as lottery funding, but these are not guaranteed and must be used for very specific purposes, such as building new facilities.
• We can invest in specific construction projects through a combination of internal and external funding when facilities have the potential to repay the investment through the income they generate. For example, we will generate money from people visiting the new Lido in Valentines Park.

Despite the financial pressures we face, we are still providing local people with:

• Weekly bin collections
• Award-winning parks and green spaces
• Investment in brand new leisure facilities, including Wanstead Leisure Centre and Valentines Park Lido
• Refurbished libraries
• Two new Engagement Hubs in Ilford Lane and Gants Hill, and a new Police Hub in Woodford
• Outstanding schools

As things get more challenging, we know the Council and the community need to work together to help keep our borough clean, safe, and welcoming and to keep ourselves and our neighbours healthy, financially secure, and involved in our communities.

We also know that we need to innovate by funding projects that will generate income long into the future while supporting local people.

Your responses to the survey questions will help us set the budget for our services in Redbridge for 2026-26.

Please complete our survey.