At a meeting of the council last week, councillors agreed the revenue and capital budget for the next financial year, informed by the feedback from the council’s Big Conversation with residents and communities. 

The budget gap will be bridged by an 8.8% increase in council tax and a range of savings totalling £7.67 million – policy (£125,000), efficiencies (£5.9m) and non-recurring (£1.6m).

This additional revenue will also support the council’s revenue budget which funds the running of day-to-day frontline services such as schools and nurseries, libraries, community centres, waste collections, maintaining the road network, and social work and social care services to protect and support vulnerable people.

A £471,000 investment fund will be created from a portion of the non-recurring savings to support the delivery of the council priorities – decisions on how this will be spent will be taken by the finance, economy and corporate support committee.

Among the savings proposals rejected were the removal of school music tuition and school counselling; the removal of kerbside glass collections and garden waste concessions; a 25% reduction in library services; and a 25% reduction to Stirling’s Citizen’s Advice Bureau.

More than 4,300 people of all ages had their say on the detailed savings proposals and other areas of the budget such as changes to council tax in two surveys in this year’s Big Conversation. 

Over £81m has been allocated for next year’s capital budget – the funding of long-term projects such as new roads, schools and buildings.

A total of £5m of this will be spent on road infrastructure improvements, with substantial investments in major projects across a wide range of service areas including new schools in Callander and South Stirling Gateway, the flood alleviation scheme in Bridge of Allan and new digital technology for schools.

Specific projects in the programme include the restoration of the Christie Clock over the next two financial years, £800,000 for two new pieces of road machinery and borrowing of £2.17m to complete the redevelopment of The Peak at Stirling Sports Village.

Stirling Council Leader, Cllr Gerry McGarvey said: “I would like to thank everyone who took part in the Big Conversation surveys and for providing such constructive and considered feedback. Be in no doubt – your views have shaped the decisions we have made today.

“Increasing council tax and making further savings, principally efficiencies, has enabled us to set a balanced budget that protects vital frontline services and gives us scope to invest in projects that will drive economic growth and secure a better future for all the people of Stirling.

“This commitment to deliver lasting benefits for our communities is also evident in our wide-ranging capital programme with significant investments in new infrastructure, facilities and equipment that will also support the transformation of our services.

“I would like to express my gratitude to everyone involved in setting this year’s budget and to acknowledge our hard-working and dedicated staff who deliver these services we rely on day-in, day-out, even during extreme weather events such as the recent Storm Eowyn.”

Like many Scottish local authorities, the council faces an unprecedented financial challenge with the budget report listing the main pressures. These include the use of one-off reserves in previous years, pay inflation, rising costs, increasing demand for services and grant allocations.

Almost 79% of the council’s budget comes from a Scottish Government grant and share of the Government’s non-domestic rates or business rates, with the rest raised from council tax.

The report on the council’s budget says that once ring-fenced grants and new funding which come with spending commitments were removed, the council’s core grant allocation from the Scottish Government for 2025-26 only increased by £4.2m (1.8%) from last year.

The council’s recently approved medium term financial strategy has forecast that its cumulative budget gap will rise to £50.7 million by 2029-30.

Cllr McGarvey continued: “The serious financial pressures on the council and local government as a whole will result in more tough choices in the years ahead. To meet these challenges, we must continue our meaningful conversation with our residents, communities and staff on how we redesign our services and do things better and more efficiently.

“The budget also shows we have lots to look forward to over the coming 12 months with work progressing on transformative projects such as Forthside while the exciting finale celebrations of Stirling’s 900th birthday will take place at the end of March.

“Innovation, creativity and resilience have been associated with Stirling’s communities over the past 900 years and these same strengths will ensure we can overcome challenges and embrace the future with confidence and optimism.”

The budget reports, including the revenue budget and proposed capital programme, as well as the political motions, can be downloaded here.