A first-quarter finance update presented to Maidstone Borough Council’s cabinet on 16 September 2026 showed an overall underspend of £1.186m at the end of June, but forecast overspends in several service areas including the Lockmeadow complex and development management.

Maidstone Borough Council’s cabinet considered its first-quarter budget update for 2026/27 on 16 September 2026, covering the financial position as at 30 June 2026. The report projected a broadly balanced budget for day-to-day operations, with a small forecast overspend of £36,000 on operating activities offset by a £700,000 underspend on treasury management.

Revenue position

At the end of Quarter 1, the council recorded net expenditure of £2.461m against a profiled budget of £3.647m — an underspend of £1.186m. Officers attributed the favourable treasury position to higher-than-expected cash levels and interest rates.

However, the report identified several forecast year-end overspends. The Lockmeadow complex was projected to overspend by £340,000. Development management appeals were forecast to overspend by £300,000, development management itself by £400,000, and development management advice by £120,000. Rent allowance was projected to overspend by £200,000, and recycling collection by £205,000. On the other side, interest and investment income was forecast to underspend by £700,000.

Capital programme

Capital expenditure at the end of Quarter 1 stood at £5.415m against a full-year budget of £45.483m, with a forecast year-end underspend of £13.929m. The report noted that the full-year budget includes unused resources carried forward from 2025/26.

Risks highlighted

The report noted that all but one of the vacant units at Lockmeadow were now occupied and that temporary accommodation numbers had shown a downward trend in the final quarter of 2025/26. However, officers warned that some families made homeless following the evacuation of the privately owned Miller Heights residential tower block in May 2026 were currently being accommodated by the council, creating a risk that temporary accommodation costs could rise again.

Officers also flagged uncertainty about external funding for projects in the social and affordable homes pipeline, potential cost pressures from the council’s property portfolio, and possible additional costs linked to Local Government Reorganisation and Community Governance Review.

Council tax collection in Quarter 1 stood at 27.5% against a target of 27.9%, and business rates collection at 30.7% against a target of 31.0%.

The council had not published the minutes of the meeting at the time of writing, so the committee’s decision is not yet on the public record.

Sources

Top image: illustrative, computer-generated. Illustrative AI-generated image of a generic British council building. This is not a photograph of Maidstone Borough Council or any real identified building.