Richmond residents face another five per cent hike in their council tax this year, with band D households set to pay nearly £2,500.

Richmond Council said it needs to raise council tax by the maximum amount allowed to protect essential services as it faces "unprecedented cuts in Government funding."

The Council proposes to hike its share of council tax by up to 4.99 per cent in April, as part of its plans to balance the books for 2026/27.

This includes a 2.99 per cent hike for general use and an extra two per cent for adult social care.

The move means band D households in Richmond are set to pay total council tax of £2,486.10 in 2026/27 – an overall increase of £114.03, or £2.19 a week.

This includes an increase in the Council's share of the bill by £93.90 to £1975.59. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan's share is set to increase by £20.13 to £510.50 for band D households to help fund police, fire and transport.

A fresh council report claimed the authority faces annual cuts of around £29m in real terms by 2028/29 under a new government funding formula, known as the Fair Funding Review 2.0, which is due to come into force in April.

The report said that while successful lobbying means Richmond will receive a cash-flat settlement over the next three years, this protection assumes it will increase council tax by the maximum amount allowed and still means its funding will fall in real terms due to inflation.

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The Council plans to tackle these pressures by delivering £30m in savings by 2028/29 through its transformation programme, which aims to make services more efficient and improve outcomes for residents.

Overall, the authority is proposing to spend £178.5m on services for residents in 2026/27.

The proposed budget includes an extra £3.2m to tackle challenges in delivering children's social care and education, another £1.2m to ease pressures on homelessness services, £4.7m more to maintain essential infrastructure and a further £500,000 to complete the expansion of food waste collections to all properties in Richmond.

The report said: "The administration's priorities in setting the budget are to support residents through sustained cost-of-living pressures and economic instability, to continue delivering key priorities and vital services and to ensure the council remains financially sustainable in the context of unprecedented cuts in Government funding.

"Central to this is delivery of the council's transformation programme, which is critical to protecting services whilst improving outcomes and responding to a projected £29m reduction in funding by year three.

"Within this challenging financial context, the administration has remained focused on delivering its key priorities.

"These include fairer and more sustainable finances, delivering more genuinely affordable housing, implementing the climate and nature strategy, investment in youth services and tackling violent crime and anti-social behaviour."

The authority has provided a breakdown of the total council tax residents in Richmond will pay if the proposed 4.99 per cent increase is applied, including the Mayor's share of the bill.

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This is summarised below:

• Band A: £1,657.40
• Band B: £1,933.63
• Band C: £2,209.87
• Band D: £2,486.10
• Band E: £3,038.57
• Band F: £3,591.03
• Band G: £4,143.49
• Band H: £4,972.19

The government lifted the referendum cap in November 2022, which means councils can raise taxes by 4.99 per cent annually without the need for it to be voted in by residents.

Residents who are struggling with their council tax payments may be eligible for help through Richmond's council tax reduction scheme and the cost-of-living hub.

The Council will vote on the budget plans on 3 March.