Residents are being asked for their views on how Chorley Council should spend their money in 2026/2027.
The consultation is open until 24 August 2025 and can be accessed at www.chorley.gov.uk/consultations
This will be one of two consultations which will take place around the budget. The first will be to get views on where we should concentrate spend, allowing the budget to be drawn up based on feedback. The second will gather views on the draft budget before councillors make their final decision.
Councillor Peter Wilson, Deputy Leader of Chorley Council said, “You may be wondering why we are seeking residents’ views on the budget at this time. Usually, our budget consultation gathers views from residents on an already drafted budget. This time around we are seeking views before we get to that stage.
“In summer and autumn, we set our corporate strategy objectives and map out the projects we intend to deliver across the coming year. The feedback from this consultation will allow us to see much earlier where our residents want to see investment and we can use it to form our plans.”
The consultation asks residents which of the corporate strategy commitments they feel should get the most investment.
Supporting health and wellbeing, delivering business support, climate change initiatives and striving for good quality housing for all are all on the agenda and residents are encouraged to share their views about what is important to them.
The council currently forecasts a budget shortfall of £2.175m for 2026/27 and faces increasing demand for services and ongoing uncertainty around the future of local government funding.
Councillor Wilson continued, “We receive funding from different sources, including a small portion of council tax, business rates, government grants, and income from services such as planning and leisure and we need to make sure we spend our money wisely and efficiently to ensure we are still in a good position to deliver quality day-to-day services and go above and beyond our statutory duties to support our residents.
“This consultation will allow us to understand what our residents want us to prioritise and focus on in the coming year and will allow us to deliver a balanced and ambitious draft budget we can present for final consultation in January/February. 2026”