West Lancashire Council Tax 2026
North West, England · 52,980 domestic properties
According to MHCLG, Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026-27, West Lancashire's Band D Council Tax is £2,456.23 for 2026-27, the 138th highest of 350 UK billing authorities (higher than 61% of them) and 5% above the UK average of £2,337.00. Nearest published Band D rates sit with North Norfolk, Worthing, Blackburn with Darwen, Cheshire East, then East Hertfordshire, Welwyn Hatfield. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Warrington, Chorley, Stockport, East Riding of Yorkshire.
How we calculate this rank & percentile
We compare every UK billing authority with a published 2026-27 Band D rate (350 in total). Rank is one plus the number with a higher charge, so equal charges share a rank. Percentile is round(authorities with a lower charge ÷ 350 × 100). The UK average is the simple mean of every council's Band D rate in our coverage set. Because the rank spans all three nations, it compares what each authority charges, not what each charge buys. English bands rest on 1991 property values in eight bands, A to H, while Scotland uses its own 1991 thresholds and Wales revalued to 2003 values with a ninth band. An English Band D home is therefore not the same property profile as a Welsh or Scottish one. Nearest published Band D rates sit with North Norfolk, Worthing, Blackburn with Darwen, Cheshire East, then East Hertfordshire, Welwyn Hatfield. See our methodology page for the full source-to-figure lineage.
- £2,456.23
- Band D charge · 2026 statutory
- Above the UK average
- +3.98%
- year-on-year vs £2,362.12
- Lower-quarter rise
- +5.1%
- vs UK avg £2,337.00
- £4,912.46
- Band H · 18/9 of Band D
Nearest published Band D rates sit with North Norfolk, Worthing, Blackburn with Darwen, Cheshire East, then East Hertfordshire, Welwyn Hatfield. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Warrington, Chorley, Stockport, East Riding of Yorkshire. Open North Norfolk for the closest published Band D on the same vintage.
West Lancashire · year-on-year Band D
What changed for West Lancashire
West Lancashire's Band D Council Tax rose from £2,362.12 (2025-26) to £2,456.23 (2026-27). Among 350 billing authorities by percentage rise, it ranks 313.
How to read this Band D change
This is a change in the published Band D charge, not advice about household bills. Precepts, discounts, and banding decide the amount you pay.
See UK year-on-year changesWest Lancashire bands A-H schedule
Per-band charge 2026
West Lancashire's nearest Band D charges nationwide
West Lancashire is 138th of 350 on the national Band D list at £2,456.23. Nearest published Band D rates sit with North Norfolk, Worthing, Blackburn with Darwen, Cheshire East, then East Hertfordshire, Welwyn Hatfield. The six closest published 2026-27 rates, led by North Norfolk, ignore geography on purpose, so a map neighbour is not mistaken for a charge twin. Read the difference column as a pound gap; cross-check the North West ranking further down when you care about local neighbours, and the stock-weighted average when you care what most of West Lancashire's 52,980 dwellings actually pay. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Warrington, Chorley, Stockport, East Riding of Yorkshire.
| Council | Band D | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| North Norfolk | £2,459.93 | +£3.70 |
| Worthing | £2,456.13 | −£0.10 |
| Blackburn with Darwen | £2,455.27 | −£0.96 |
| Cheshire East | £2,454.87 | −£1.36 |
| East Hertfordshire | £2,454.78 | −£1.45 |
| Welwyn Hatfield | £2,452.26 | −£3.97 |
Band A–H charge table (2026/2027)
| Band | Annual Charge | Monthly | Sole occupant (−25%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | £1,637.49 | £163.75 | £1,228.12 |
| B | £1,910.40 | £191.04 | £1,432.80 |
| C | £2,183.32 | £218.33 | £1,637.49 |
| D | £2,456.23 | £245.62 | £1,842.17 |
| E | £3,002.06 | £300.21 | £2,251.55 |
| F | £3,547.89 | £354.79 | £2,660.92 |
| G | £4,093.72 | £409.37 | £3,070.29 |
| H | £4,912.46 | £491.25 | £3,684.35 |
England 1991 valuation ranges (Band A–H)
- Band A: Up to £40,000 (1991 valuation)
- Band B: £40,001 to £52,000
- Band C: £52,001 to £68,000
- Band D: £68,001 to £88,000 (reference band)
- Band E: £88,001 to £120,000
- Band F: £120,001 to £160,000
- Band G: £160,001 to £320,000
- Band H: Over £320,000
Source: MHCLG, Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026-27 (area Band D) + statutory England band ratios documented in our methodology. Monthly figure is the annual charge / 10 (most councils use 10 monthly instalments). The sole-occupant column applies the statutory 25% single-person discount, payable when only one adult lives in the property.
What West Lancashire's 52,980 properties actually pay
Most homes in West Lancashire sit in Band A, the bottom of the valuation list: 15,000 of 52,980 dwellings (28.3%). Band A is charged at two-thirds of the Band D rate, so the headline figure above describes a property type that is in the minority here. It takes 3 bands — A, B, C — to cover half the stock, a wider spread than most authorities show. 66.7% of dwellings on the England valuation list here are banded below D.
Weighting each band's statutory charge by the number of properties in it gives a stock-weighted average of £2,238.69 per dwelling, £217.54 (8.9%) below the £2,456.23 Band D headline, because most of the stock sits in bands charged at less than the Band D rate. On that measure West Lancashire is 160th of 318 authorities with published stock counts, against a £2,269.00 average. That places West Lancashire 9th of the 35 billing authorities in North West, above the regional median of £2,089.63.
How to read this stock pattern
Band D is a poor description of the largest group in West Lancashire's housing stock. The dominant group is Band A, where the statutory charge is two-thirds of the Band D rate, while the reference band describes a different part of the valuation list. The £2,238.69 stock-weighted figure is therefore the more representative area-level comparison. It does not predict an individual bill, because discounts, exemptions and the property's actual valuation band still determine liability.
West Lancashire has a broad valuation-band profile: the largest 3 groups are needed before the cumulative share passes half of the stock. No single band dominates the local picture, which makes a one-band headline especially incomplete. The weighted result is useful for comparing this authority with peers, but the spread across 8 published bands matters just as much. A broad mix also means the area-level mean is less representative of any one household than it is in a concentrated council.
West Lancashire occupies the middle half of the North West stock-weighted distribution, above its £2,089.63 median. The regional result gives more context than a UK-wide rank without turning the difference into a superlative. It also shows that the council's band mix, not only its published Band D rate, determines where it sits among nearby authorities. The remaining distance from the median is an area-level comparison rather than a household saving or premium.
Closest housing-stock shape: Westmorland and Furness
Westmorland and Furness is the closest full-distribution match for West Lancashire. The profiles are close rather than identical: 4.0% of dwellings would need to shift between valuation bands for their published shares to align. The comparison therefore tests the whole ladder, not just the largest band.
Four largest band differences
- The largest separation is lower on the ladder at Band A: West Lancashire has 28.3% of dwellings there, against 24.8% in Westmorland and Furness. That extra lower-band weight pulls its stock profile away from the peer.
- Another material separation sits at lower Band B, where Westmorland and Furness holds 20.8% of its stock and West Lancashire holds 18.4%. The peer is more bottom-weighted at this rung of the valuation list.
- A smaller distinction is at reference Band D: its share is 14.5% in West Lancashire and 15.1% in Westmorland and Furness. The familiar benchmark represents a larger slice of the peer's housing stock.
- A smaller distinction is an upper-band difference at Band E. Westmorland and Furness records 10.8% of dwellings there, compared with 10.3% in West Lancashire, so the peer carries more of its stock at that higher rung.
How the wider profile compares
West Lancashire has the stronger combined lower-band tilt: Bands A to C account for 1.3% more of its stock than they do in Westmorland and Furness. The nearest match still leaves that bottom-of-ladder difference visible.
Westmorland and Furness carries the heavier upper tail across Bands E and above, exceeding West Lancashire's combined share there by 0.7%. Total-variation distance counts those absolute band gaps without assuming they offset the lower-band pattern.
Both profiles peak in Band A, so the peer match agrees on the most common valuation group as well as the full-distribution distance. The band-by-band gaps above show why a shared mode does not make the profiles interchangeable.
Band H is the most stable point in the comparison, with shares of 0.2% and 0.3%. Reading that near-match beside the largest gaps prevents the peer label from hiding where the two published distributions actually agree.
Show every band direction
- Band A leans toward West Lancashire
- Band B leans toward Westmorland and Furness
- Band C is closely balanced
- Band D leans toward Westmorland and Furness
- Band E leans toward Westmorland and Furness
- Band F is closely balanced
- Band G is closely balanced
- Band H is closely balanced
This sequence is read from the lowest published band to the highest.
Other close England matches for West Lancashire: Warrington (4.3% redistribution distance); Chorley (4.7% redistribution distance); Stockport (5.5% redistribution distance); East Riding of Yorkshire (5.8% redistribution distance). Ranked across every published band in the England valuation system, this shortlist shows whether Westmorland and Furness stands alone or sits in a cluster of similarly shaped authorities.
| Band | Properties | Share of stock | Annual charge |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 15,000 | 28.3% | £1,637.49 |
| B | 9,770 | 18.4% | £1,910.40 |
| C | 10,580 | 20.0% | £2,183.32 |
| D | 7,670 | 14.5% | £2,456.23 |
| E | 5,450 | 10.3% | £3,002.06 |
| F | 2,700 | 5.1% | £3,547.89 |
| G | 1,700 | 3.2% | £4,093.72 |
| H | 110 | 0.2% | £4,912.46 |
Property-stock source, rounding and weighting notes
Property counts: VOA, Council Tax: stock of properties 2025 (Table CTSOP1.0_SUP, as at 9 September 2025), Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts are published rounded to the nearest 10, so shares are approximate and may not sum to exactly 100%. The stock-weighted average is our calculation: each band's 2026/2027 charge multiplied by its property count, divided by the total. It is a mean across the whole stock, not a bill any individual household receives.
Authorities charging a similar average across their stock
These are the closest authorities to West Lancashire on the stock-weighted measure, which is a different ordering from the Band D neighbours above because it accounts for how each area's properties are banded.
- Babergh£2,243.62
- Northumberland£2,243.01
- Wyre Forest£2,241.87
- Cardiff£2,238.10
- Ealing£2,237.88
West Lancashire's nearest year-on-year movers
West Lancashire moved Band D from £2,362.12 to £2,456.23 (+3.98%, competition rank 313th of 350). The closest published movements sit with Wyre, City of Edinburgh, Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Muted-rise signal for West Lancashire: the increase is below 4%, placing this authority among the slower-moving part of the current dataset.
- Wyre4.01%
- City of Edinburgh4.00%
- Newcastle-under-Lyme3.98%
- Lancaster3.97%
- Preston3.95%
- Rossendale3.94%
How West Lancashire compares in North West
Among the 35 billing authorities in North West, West Lancashire's 2026-27 Band D charge of £2,456.23 ranks 22nd of 35, higher than 37% of them (£26.77 below the North West average of £2,483.00). Its nearest-charged neighbours in the region:
| Region rank | Council | Band D 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|
| 20th | Hyndburn | £2,465.98 |
| 21st | Wyre | £2,460.53 |
| 22nd | West Lancashire | £2,456.23 |
| 23rd | Blackburn with Darwen | £2,455.27 |
| 24th | Cheshire East | £2,454.87 |
Regional rank out of 35 North West billing authorities by 2026-27 Band D charge (1 = dearest). See the full UK ranking or the complete directory.
Questions answered from West Lancashire's data
These answers use West Lancashire's £2,456.23 Band D rate, the England statutory multipliers, and the VOA stock mix (modal Band A, 66.7% below D).
Is West Lancashire Council Tax above the UK average?
West Lancashire's 2026-27 Band D rate is £2,456.23, 5.1% above the UK average of £2,337.00. It has competition rank 138th of 350, with equal charges sharing a rank. Nearest published Band D rates sit with North Norfolk, Worthing, Blackburn with Darwen, Cheshire East, then East Hertfordshire, Welwyn Hatfield.
Which councils have charges closest to West Lancashire?
The closest published Band D rates are North Norfolk (£2,459.93), Worthing (£2,456.13), Blackburn with Darwen (£2,455.27), Cheshire East (£2,454.87), East Hertfordshire (£2,454.78), Welwyn Hatfield (£2,452.26). The comparison table above shows the six nearest authorities and the exact difference from West Lancashire.
What is the average Council Tax bill in West Lancashire?
Across West Lancashire's 52,980 domestic properties, the stock-weighted average charge is £2,238.69 for 2026-27. That is £217.54 below the £2,456.23 Band D rate, because the most common band here is Band A (28.3% of the stock) and 66.7% of dwellings are banded below D. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Warrington, Chorley, Stockport, East Riding of Yorkshire. Property counts are from the VOA 2025 stock release; the weighting is our calculation.
How did West Lancashire Council Tax change for 2026-27?
Band D moved from £2,362.12 to £2,456.23, a 3.98% rise. Its competition rank by annual increase is 313th of 350; the closest movements include Wyre, City of Edinburgh, Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Advice boundary for West Lancashire
They are not personalised advice - expand a question for the figure that matches the tables above for the 2026-27 vintage, then follow the methodology or gov.uk links for a binding bill on a specific property.
Council Tax figure, precept and liability disclaimer
Council Tax charges shown on this page are derived from the published England Band D dataset and statutory England band ratios. They are intended as informational guidance, not as a personalised tax statement or legal advice. Your actual bill depends on your property's assigned band and on any discounts or exemptions that apply to your household. This area Band D is a two-tier total for West Lancashire: district charge plus county, police, fire where separate, and the average parish precept across the district. Nearest published Band D rates sit with North Norfolk, Worthing, Blackburn with Darwen, Cheshire East, then East Hertfordshire, Welwyn Hatfield. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Warrington, Chorley, Stockport, East Riding of Yorkshire. For a binding figure consult your West Lancashire Council Tax bill or the official gov.uk Council Tax service. Figures published in 2026 reflect the 2026/2027 financial year only.
UK tools, directories and band challenge
- Compare councils side-by-side →
- Browse all UK councils →
- Band D national rollup →
- Challenge your band guide →
Charges shown for West Lancashire are the area Band D and statutory band multiples, already including county, police, fire and average parish precepts where they apply. Nearest published Band D rates sit with North Norfolk, Worthing, Blackburn with Darwen, Cheshire East, then East Hertfordshire, Welwyn Hatfield.