Manchester City Council has agreed a £1.045bn net revenue budget for 2026/27 (Friday 27 February), the first time its annual revenue funding has exceeded £1bn. The settlement follows years of reductions in central support between 2010 and 2024 and reflects fairer national funding which better matches the city's needs, according to the authority.

The council said the improved position allows it to invest in residents' priorities and begin rebuilding services affected by austerity. For the construction and property sectors, the programme points to increased activity across highways maintenance, drainage, parks and public realm, waste operations and community facilities, alongside an ongoing capital push on affordable housing and town centre renewal.

Street cleansing is set for a step change, with an additional £2.145m in 2026/27 rising to a £5.13m annual uplift by 2028/29, taking next year's total street cleaning budget to £10.6m. A further £774,000 next year—rising to £1m by 2028/29—targets fly-tipping and littering enforcement and improvements to waste collection and removal.

More than £1.7m will boost maintenance of public spaces, especially parks and green areas. Highways will receive one-off 2026/27 allocations of £1.1m to improve road, pavement and path surfaces and £500,000 to expand pavement and footpath gritting in local centres, taking the highways budget to £20.7m. An extra £550,000 a year will strengthen drainage and gully cleaning to help reduce flooding risk.

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A £1.47m package will widen access to sport and physical activity for Manchester residents, including plans to expand free swimming for under-16s and over-60s. Investment will also support longer library opening—including Sunday opening in eight libraries—and more community events.

Alongside revenue measures, the council confirmed that capital funding will continue to deliver council, social and genuinely affordable homes and to invest in local high streets and district centres. Manchester remains on course to deliver at least 10,000 council, social and affordable homes by 2032, with last year's completions the highest since the mid-1990s.

Council Leader Cllr Bev Craig said: "Manchester is an incredible city which we are all proud to call home. We're seeing record levels of investment in our neighbourhoods and communities, more council and social homes built than for decades and stronger economic growth than anywhere in the UK.

"But we believe that Manchester can be even better and that's what we're determined that this budget will help achieve – a city where everyone can have a good home, a good job and a good life in a well cared for, invested-in neighbourhood.

"That's exactly where the extra funding available to us in this budget is being focused."

Councillor Rabnawaz Akbar, Executive Member for Finance, said: "This is a budget that is investing in what residents have told us matters most to them. The improved funding gives the city space not just to protect essential services but to strengthen them and bring back elements of local life that were lost during austerity. People will see an improvement in their neighbourhoods and real improvements in their everyday lives."

"While we are still dealing with the legacies of austerity, which means our finances still require careful management, this year is a big step forward. "£1 billion is a lot of money which needs to support a wide range of services. What's important is that we have a clear vision for the city as a great place to live with opportunities for everyone."

The £1.045bn net revenue budget is allocated as follows: Adult Social Care £294.6m; Children's Services £202.8m; Neighbourhood Services £149.6m; Corporate Services £114.8m; Growth and Development £10.1m; and Corporate Budgets £214.8m.

For the UK construction industry, the scale and mix of programmes—from highways and drainage packages to public realm upgrades and a multi-year affordable housing pipeline—indicate sustained demand for contractors, consultants and materials suppliers across Greater Manchester, with wider relevance for local authority investment strategies nationally.