Price hikes for Dudley Council services - including pest control and cremation - set for debate
Pest control and cremation are among Dudley Council services earmarked for a price hike in 2026.
Members of the council’s cabinet will discuss increases to fees and charges during their meeting on January 14 as part of the process to finalise spending plans for the 2026/27 financial year.
The budget includes detailed plans about charges for many council services with most increases set at around 3.8 percent based on the CPI inflation figure for September.
A report for the cabinet from Lisa Kitto, Dudley’s interim director of finance, said: “An annual increase in fees and charges protects the income the council receives to deliver services and reduces the increase on council tax to set a balanced budget.”
The budget sets new rates for removal of unwanted visitors in homes; a one-off treatment for bed bugs, cockroaches and cat or dog fleas is set to cost £171.27 while a first treatment for a wasp nest of three visits to tackle rodents is priced at £88.23.
Under the proposals, the cost of cremation for an adult would rise from £1,025 to £1,064 while the price of scattering ashes on a grave would go up by £3.80 to £103.80.
The most expensive option for burial in the borough, in a bricked grave, will go up by £104.90 to £2,864.90 if councillors approve the budget.
Some of the biggest increases in the proposed budget occur in the housing services section where people renting a garage, paying garden maintenance fees or travellers paying site fees will be hit with increases of nearly five percent.
Anyone with laundry to do will face a whopping 6.9 percent rise for a wash or dry laundry token which takes the cost up to £4.50.
The plans include smaller increases for a variety of fees including leisure centre services: an annual standard membership is earmarked to rise by two percent to £403.90.
In the current financial year the authority says it will make £65.5m from fees and charges, the planned increases will add £2.5m in the next financial year.
A full council meeting on February 23 will have the final say on Dudley’s spending plans.
