Camborne Town Council Agrees 2026/27 Budget with 10% Precept Rise

Camborne Town Council has agreed its budget for 2026/2027, setting out plans to protect key local services while pressing ahead with a series of major community projects.

Councillors have approved a total budget of £2,054,692, with a precept of £1,882,805. The change will mean an increase of around 54p a week, or £2.17 a month, for a Band D household.

While this represents a 10 per cent rise in the Town Council’s share of council tax, more than 80 per cent of the overall bill continues to go to Cornwall Council and Devon and Cornwall Police.

Protecting Services

The Council covers around 2,800 hectares, including Barripper, Beacon, Brea, Kehelland, Penponds and Troon. It is responsible for a wide range of local services, including the community library, parks and open spaces, play areas, benches and planters in the town centre, public toilets and CCTV provision. It also supports community development work and local events.

The authority says it is facing significant financial pressures due to increased costs, high inflation, rising demand for services and ongoing reductions in funding from Government and Cornwall Council. It is also taking on responsibility for services no longer provided to towns and parishes by Cornwall Council.

Councillor John Cosgrove, Chair of the Finance Committee, said: “We are acutely aware of the difficulties facing local residents and businesses and have been working very hard to minimise costs and make savings to keep any increase to the precept as low as possible. Despite this hard work, however, the stark reality is that we had no choice but to increase the precept if we want to protect services and finance both our day-to-day operations and future plans.”

He added: “This decision has not been made lightly. Although we are not responsible for maintaining the roads, emptying the bins, running schools and delivering social care, all of which are carried out by Cornwall Council, we do provide the library and lots of other things which our annual residents’ survey tells us that local people really want and value.”

Town Deal Projects Moving Forward

The Council is currently leading three Camborne Town Deal projects.

Awneva will see the former Council offices in the Basset Centre and White House transformed into an arts, education and cultural hub. The scheme will provide space for the relocated library and community events and activities.

Plans are also progressing for the Park Gerry Sport and Amenity Hub, which will include a new skatepark, pavilion building, football pitch and improved landscaping and pathways.

A new green space at Holman Gardens is also being created to improve the entrance to the town.

John said: “As well as running our much loved and well used library, now rated as one of the best performing in the county, this increase will enable us to provide new measures to tackle anti-social behaviour; improve our parks, gardens and open spaces and continue to support local organisations and events.

“We are also very excited about the progress which is being made in delivering our Town Deal projects and look forward to seeing local people enjoying the new green spaces at Holman Gardens and Park Gerry and using the transformed Basset Centre.

“The next few years will see significant changes in Camborne which will benefit all parts of our community and I am very proud of the role of the Town Council in helping to create this positive future.”

Parks, Toilets and Footpaths

In recent years the Council has carried out improvements at Beacon Recreation Ground and Camborne Recreation Ground. Further works are due at Park Gerry and Kerrier Way during 2026/2027 as part of the Town Deal programme. Discussions are also under way with the local community about plans for Treslothan Road Park in Troon.

The Council maintains two public toilets, at the Recreation Ground on Crane Road and in Rosewarne Car Park off Rosewarne Road. It is also contracted by Cornwall Council to maintain 24 miles of public footpaths.

The majority of the Town Council’s funding comes from the annual precept, collected as part of the general council tax bill. The remainder is generated through other income streams and grants for specific projects.

For comparison, Cornwall Council has an annual budget of £1.5 billion, around 1,000 times larger than Camborne Town Council’s.