The Parish Council considered the detailed budget and the Precept request (the amount the Parish Council requires for meeting the expenses of running the Council) for the year 2026 / 27 at the meeting on 21 January.
The budget of £14,622 for the year 2026/27 was agreed. This took into account the range of Parish responsibilities including grass cutting on Skimmingdish Lane, Fringford Road and Old School Close, the Fringford Road weed spraying, the dog bin emptying, meeting costs, saving for replacement street furniture, potential election costs, paying the Clerk, a road safety fund and reserves.
The Parish had been given the Tax Base figure (broadly, the number of Band D equivalent dwellings in the village) by CDC which was estimated at 595.5; this was an increase from 592.5 the previous year.
Following the calculations, it was agreed to increase the Precept to £11,900 which was an increase of £1,900. The annual cost to a Band D household would be approximately £19.98 – an increase of £3.14 over the whole year.
However, it is worth noting that the Band D equivalent for a resident of Bicester for 25/26 was scheduled to be around £139.
More information about how the Tax Base figure is calculated is available at Financing the Parish Council
For anyone interested, the draft budget and precept calculations can be found under the January Items for Information at 2025 – 2026 – Agenda and Minutes of Meetings