East Cambridgeshire District Council remains debt free and is freezing its Council Tax again in 2025/2026 - for the 12th year running.

This is despite an economically challenging environment which has seen many other local authorities rack up millions in debt.

But there are fears low Council Tax could soon be a thing of the past for East Cambs residents when government plans to merge district and county councils come into effect in 2028.

Cllr Anna Bailey, Leader of East Cambridgeshire District Council, said: “Out of more than 500 local authority organisations in the UK only 22 (4%) have been debt free since 2020.

“We put our success down to an innovative and prudent approach to financing.

“But we are concerned this could all change when we are forced to merge with neighbouring councils which typically put up their Council Tax by the maximum amount each year.”

The district council is asking residents to have their say in a new survey designed to capture what people of East Cambridgeshire think.

The decision to freeze Council Tax was made at its Full Council meeting on 25 February.

For residents it means Council Tax paid to the district council can remain at £142.14 for an average Band D property – the same as it was 12 years ago.

It is the only district, county or unitary authority still in operation in the country not to have put up bills during this time.

The amount residents pay to the district council is less than 7% of the total bill.

The remainder is divided between Cambridgeshire County Council, parish, town or city councils, the emergency services and the Combined Authority.

As well as a freeze in Council Tax, the balanced budget takes into account nearly £2 million set aside for the purchase of waste vehicles; £1 million to purchase wheeled black bins and £280,000 to buy food waste caddies. This is to ensure the council is ready to meet the government’s long term Waste Strategy being implemented in 2026. For residents this means weekly food waste collections and black wheeled bins from June 2026 to help improve our recycling rate even further.

It also includes an 8% increase in fees the council pays to the Internal Drainage Board.

This summer will also see the council begin building a new state of the art lakeside bereavement centre. The plan for the council-owned land includes a crematorium and a natural burial area.