Burial services and traffic regulation orders are among the charges set to rise under an annual review which council leaders say will bring hundreds of thousands of pounds more into the public purse.
Stockton Council has listed its fees and charges in its latest budget and medium term financial plan as part of efforts to fill a £6.7m budget gap. Across an 87-page table, most services are set for relatively modest increases next financial year.
These cover areas like animal health, welfare, pest control, environmental health, security and surveillance, customer services, registration, fleet, events, health and safety, legal fees, school performances, building control, revenues, benefits and welfare, leases, licences and deeds. Many fees and charges are still to be confirmed in areas including licensing, environmental protection, registration and fixed penalties for non-school attendance.
Enforcement charges, which are set nationally, will stay the same with £400 for flytipping, £200 for abandoning a vehicle, £130 for littering and urinating in public, £80 for flyposting and graffiti and £50 for failing to pick up dog poo. The green waste collection fee will stay at £40, while the cost of replacement wheelie-bins will rise by 80p or £1.
The council says most of the fees and charges, which are reviewed annually, are rising by the consumer price index, which measures price changes, with others increasing by varying amounts. The review is expected to generate an extra £323,000 for the council in 2026-7, rising in future years, and 57% of respondents in a money survey agreed the council should maximise its income through fees and charges.
Bereavement service fee changes
There are rises in bereavement services, with the price of a particular type of burial plot rising from £115 to £300. However this is covered by a government scheme under which bereaved parents of under-18s can access funding for burial or cremation costs, and the council says it publishes a fee so it can claim for these costs.
Some graves or burials are listed with price increases of between £100 and £220. The council says these are reviewed annually and prices are benchmarked against other local authorities, with a range of fees to suit people’s wishes.
At weekends the cost of adult cremation is rising from £1,220 to £1,500. The authority says there are extra costs such as staffing and energy when the crematorium opens outside its Monday to Friday opening hours.
There are also higher late fees and cancellation charges. The council says these relate to the funeral director, not to families or the bereaved, and they have never had to charge these but it is standard to have them in place.
Prices for a memorial vault are rising by between £70 and £86, which the council says is in line with policy and factors like inflation and market comparison. The charge for a “new bench with plaque for sole dedication” is rising from £1,800 to £2,500, which the council says is to reflect the rising cost of materials.
Roadworks related changes
On the roads, organisations carrying out street works which fail to comply with conditions will have to pay double as a fixed penalty notice under the New Roads and Street Works Act rises by law from £80 to £160. And a fee for one type of temporary traffic regulation order – used to close a road or change traffic movements for roadworks or events – is increasing from £2,470 to £2,844.
The council says this is to cover issues like officer time to process legal documents, advertising the closure, consulting emergency services and managing the traffic arrangements. There are lesser increases for other highways, transport and design services including temporary and emergency closures and scaffold licences. Car park charges remain as agreed late last year.
Health and safety advice fees
Health and safety advice for schools and academies is being charged at £100 to £250 more, and legal school admission appeals are charged between £150 and £665. The council says these are being brought into its fees and charges policy, having previously come under individual agreements to schools and academies.
Library fees
Fees in libraries will stay the same except for a slight rise in the Jim Cook meeting room hire, while charges for museum admissions, previously closed for redevelopment, are set at varying amounts between £6.40 and £52. This covers the Preston Park Museum’s annual and daily passes, in place since the newly extended attraction reopened in September 2025, and admissions will not be reviewed again until April 2027. And in events, “ground rent circus” is rising from £2,848 to £2,956.
Housing fees
In housing, there will be charges of between £1,000 and £4,000, set nationally, for not complying with energy efficiency regulations. These are financial penalties in a policy which has been in place since 2022, based on national guidance.
Deputy council leader Councillor Paul Rowling said: “We have reviewed all fees and charges, in line with the policy, to make sure they are fit for purpose and reflective of the service being offered to residents, schools and businesses. Inflationary pressures, comparison with the market as well as benchmarking against the private sector and other local authorities are some of the factors we take into account when considering an increase or change.
“This is part of the wider work we are doing to ensure the budget gap is addressed, building upon the close to £10m savings already identified through the ‘Powering Our Future’ programme.”
In its new fees and charges policy, the council says its main objectives are to achieve financial sustainability, ensure services are accessible and affordable, and support the council’s priorities including economic growth and social inclusion. It says it can apply exemptions, reductions and discounts to low-income households, vulnerable groups and community or charity organisations.
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