Bradford council tax to rise by 4.99% in April

Council tax bills in Bradford will rise by 4.99% after the council approved its budget for the next financial year.

The authority said it needed to make £60.6m in savings for 2026-27, which would include increasing charges and improving efficiency.

The latest increase comes after council tax rose by just under 10% in 2025, which caused campaigners to protest in the city's Centenary Square.

Labour leader of Bradford Council, Susan Hinchcliffe, said the council had made sure the budget invested in young people and restored services which had previously been cut.

For properties in Band D the new rate will equate to an increase of £93.40 a year or £1.80 a week, while Band A properties will pay an extra £62.28 a year or £1.20 a week.

Opposition groups put forward their own budgets as amendments, which included the Green Party, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.

The Conservatives group proposed a council tax rise of 3.99%, which was criticised as "unworkable" by councillors.

Amendments from the Lib Dems and Greens said council tax would increase by 4.99% but all alternate budgets were voted down.

Bradford Independents did not put an amendment forward, saying it was their job to scrutinise Labour's budget.

Hinchcliffe added: "We know council tax is something that people don't like paying, but at the same time we have to deliver those services that people rely on.

"That is children's social care, adult social care, all those are services that we all think we should have as a society.

"This year, because we've got a better settlement, we're able to restore some services, like reducing the cost of bulky waste collections, for example, for everybody in the districts."

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