Politics
Epping Forest District Council Approves 2026 Transport Integration Levy, Setting Per-Capita Spend at £52
The July 7 vote brings Epping in line with the £48 average recorded across eight Essex districts under the same national framework.
How we reported this
Epping Forest District Council voted 28-9 on 7 July to adopt the 2026 Transport Integration Levy, a measure that requires each local authority to contribute a fixed share of its budget toward coordinated bus and rail timetables. The decision directly affects the 132,000 residents of Epping, Loughton and Waltham Abbey wards by altering how council revenue is earmarked for service contracts.
The levy forms part of the government’s 2025 Connectivity and Growth Act, which instructs all district councils in England to publish comparable spending figures by the end of the financial year. Epping’s finance officers prepared the proposal after reviewing the published accounts of Chelmsford, Colchester and Basildon, all of which have already set their rates for the coming year.
Changes to local service contracts
Under the approved schedule, £6.9 million will be transferred from the council’s general fund to a new joint procurement pool managed by Essex County Council. Residents who rely on the 20 and 21 bus routes serving Epping station will see timetable revisions published in September, with evening frequencies increased from every 60 minutes to every 45 minutes on weekdays. Households in the Theydon Bois area, currently served by a single daily shopper service, are scheduled to receive an additional morning departure starting in October.
Policy analysts note that the per-resident contribution of £52 places Epping between the £48 figure set by Brentwood and the £55 figure recorded in Harlow. The variation stems from differences in existing contract lengths rather than differences in policy ambition, according to the council’s published comparison table.
The legislation states that any unspent levy funds must be returned to the originating district by March 2028. Council documents project that Epping will draw down the full amount in the first two years, leaving no surplus for reallocation to other services such as parks maintenance.
Implementation begins with the publication of the revised network map on the council website on 1 September 2026. Residents will be invited to comment on the draft routes during a four-week consultation period ending 30 September, after which final contracts are due to be signed with operators in November.