MORE than 2,500 people took part in engagement sessions and surveys to discuss how the council should allocate the budget.

During October and November, seven face-to-face interactive public budget engagement events were held in Salisbury, Tisbury, Calne, Devizes, Royal Wootton Bassett, Trowbridge and Westbury.

Three events were also held with Wiltshire Council staff at the three main hubs including Bourne Hill in Salisbury.

An interactive budget-themed exercise was also held with Wiltshire Youth Council.

A total of 847 people attended the face-to-face drop in events with people asked to place tokens in ten boxes, each representing Wiltshire Council services, to indicate the services they would prioritise.

For those not able to attend, a survey was available giving people the opportunity to rank ten council services in order of priority.

Through the survey, 1,051 written feedback responses were provided via the free text box.

The top three services residents felt should be prioritised both in-person and online were family and children, education and adults.

The council’s cabinet and senior officers are looking through the responses in detail to help inform its budget proposals for 2026/27, which are due to be published in January.

Cabinet member for finance Cllr Gavin Grant said: “Like many councils, Wiltshire faces significant financial challenges, and it was a real privilege to get out across the county and hear directly from residents of all ages.

“People engaged thoughtfully with our budget exercise, considering carefully where to place their tokens, and I had some excellent, constructive conversations as a result. I’d also like to mention the young people we met at our session with the Youth Council – they were a credit, and it was incredibly enlightening to hear their perspective and ideas.

“All the feedback we’ve received, both in person and online, is feeding into our ongoing budget discussions. We’ll publish our proposals in the new year, and there will be another chance for residents to hear the full context during our public webinar in January. I look forward to continuing the conversation then.”

Wiltshire Council will be hosting a public webinar on January 28 at 6pm.