North West · Non-metropolitan district

Chorley

2026/27 view

Chorley · ONS E07000118

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources

COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

54/ 100

COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Mixed

Compared only with non-metropolitan district councils using central government returns.

164 councils in peer group Rank 75 of 164 High confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated

Reserves cover63

Debt burden36

Liquidity40

Debt direction88

YEAR-ON-YEAR CONTEXT Change from the previous reported period Each measure uses its own official reporting timetable.

Net debt £50.57m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4

−£21.25m 29.6%

Service expenditure £15.94m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

−£481.0k 2.9%

Unallocated reserves £4.31m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

+£219.0k 5.4%

FIVE-YEAR FINANCIAL TREND

How this council's finances have changed

Official annual outturn. Each line uses its own scale so direction remains easy to read.

Through 2024/25

Service expenditure £15.94m

23.1%

Net revenue expenditure £14.07m

4.9%

Council Tax requirement £8.98m

13.9%

Unallocated reserves £4.31m

6.3%

COUNCILMETRICS COMMUNITY SCORE Share your experience 0 of 25 responses collected before results are published

Score this council

Political controlNot yet recordedAdministration not identified

Council leaderNot identifiedParty not identified

Resident population120,8392024 estimate

Latest net debt£50.57m2026/27 Q1 quarter end

WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

Official Defra measures for Chorley, with like-for-like comparison against collection authorities.

2024/25

41.8%recycled

Household recycling rate

Recycling rate fell

1.5 percentage points vs 2023/24

102 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%

Residual waste476.3 kgper household+7.6 kg year on year

Waste collected359.7 kgper resident−6.8 kg year on year

Household waste43,579tonnes collected18,225 tonnes recycled

WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

18,225 t recycled, composted or reused 25,354 t not recycled

RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

41.8%

2015/162024/25

EDUCATION

Schools and education

Schools, pupil numbers and latest education outcomes across Chorley.

2024/25

SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools

73 Open schools

17,889 Pupils

19,463 School places

91.9% Capacity utilisation

ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in Chorley.

Attainment 8

48.2

North West 44.6

England 46.1

2.1 points above England

English & maths grade 5+

47.3%

North West 42.0%

England 45.4%

1.9 percentage points above England

EBacc entry

32.6%

North West 36.7%

England 40.5%

7.9 percentage points below England

PROGRESS

Progress 8

0.21

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.

TREND

Attainment 8 over time

50.4 18/19

51.8 19/20

52.3 20/21

50.7 21/22

48.1 22/23

49.7 23/24

48.2 24/25

Education context

Chorley's latest Key Stage 4 outcomes show a mixed picture when compared with North West and England.

Department for Education · Key Stage 4 performance · Pupil residency

HOUSING & AFFORDABILITY

Housing costs and local earnings

House prices and affordability for Chorley, based on the earnings of local residents.

2025

Median house price

£220,000

+ 22.2% over five years

Median resident earnings

£39,350

+ 26.3% over five years

House price to earnings

5.59×

Improved from 5.78× five years ago

PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in Chorley.

£792 / month

+ 7.0% in the last year

July 2026

Chorley

£792

+ 7.0%

North West

£965

+ 5.7%

England

£1,451

+ 3.8%

Compared with North West £173 less per month

Compared with England £659 less per month

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

Median house price as a multiple of median resident earnings. Lower is more affordable.

Chorley

5.59×

North West

5.90×

England

7.64×

Compared with North West More affordable

Compared with England More affordable

Source: Office for National Statistics · Housing affordability in England and Wales · House prices year ending September · Residence-based earnings

PLANNING & HOUSING DELIVERY

Is development moving through the system?

Quarterly planning decisions and the government's latest three-year Housing Delivery Test.

2026 Q1

Applications received119this quarter−47 vs 2025 Q4

Applications decided108this quarter−46 vs 2025 Q4

Outstanding applications—at quarter end

95.4%approved

Overall approval rate103 granted5 refused+5.1 pts vs previous quarter

DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

95.4%

Rank 94 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

0.1 percentage points lower than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major2100.0%50.0% Minor3585.7%91.4% Other71100.0%98.6%

QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters

HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

63%

Required1,553homes over three years

Delivered986homes over three years

100% requirement

Presumption in favourHDT 2025 government assessment

CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

Latest police-recorded crime figures for Chorley, excluding fraud.

Year ending Mar 2026

Recorded offences 7,076 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud

Crime rate 58.6 offences per 1,000 residents

Annual change + 2.6% compared with the previous year

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents

Chorley Your council

58.6 + 2.6%

North West Region

89.4 − 0.9%

England National

83.4 − 1.5%

Chorley has a recorded crime rate 34.5% below North West. It is 29.8% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Lancashire

Violence 3,341

27.6 per 1,000 + 8.4%

Theft 1,599

13.2 per 1,000 − 15.0%

Public order 424

3.5 per 1,000 + 10.1%

Criminal damage 708

5.9 per 1,000 + 6.9%

Shoplifting 477

3.9 per 1,000 − 2.3%

Vehicle offences 322

2.7 per 1,000 − 12.0%

Burglary 241

2.0 per 1,000 − 35.7%

Drug offences 240

2.0 per 1,000 + 50.0%

ONS / Home Office · Police-recorded crime · Community Safety Partnership data

SCHOOLS & OFSTED

Schools and inspection outcomes

Open schools, pupil numbers and the latest published Ofsted inspection position for Chorley.

73 schools

Open schools 73

Pupils 17,889

School places 19,463

Capacity used 91.9%

Primary 50 schools

9,520 pupils

Other / specialist 14 schools

854 pupils

Secondary 7 schools

7,342 pupils

Nursery 2 schools

173 pupils

CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information

Renewed framework 5

6.8% of open schools

Previous full framework 40

54.8% of open schools

Ungraded inspection 17

23.3% of open schools

No Ofsted record 11

15.1% of open schools

RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

5 schools assessed

Achievement 5 assessed

Expected standard 3

Strong standard 2

Attendance & behaviour 5 assessed

Expected standard 3

Strong standard 2

Curriculum & teaching 5 assessed

Expected standard 4

Strong standard 1

Inclusion 5 assessed

Expected standard 3

Needs attention 1

Strong standard 1

Leadership & governance 5 assessed

Expected standard 5

Personal development 5 assessed

Expected standard 4

Strong standard 1

Safeguarding 5 assessed

Met 5

PREVIOUS FRAMEWORK

Legacy Ofsted ratings

These ratings apply only to schools whose latest full inspection remains under the previous Ofsted framework. Schools assessed under the renewed framework are shown separately above.

Outstanding 5

Good 25

Requires improvement 1

Not judged 9

LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools

School	Phase	Pupils	Capacity	Latest Ofsted position
Abbey Village Primary School URN 119307 · PR6 8DD	Primary	52	119	Good
Adlington Primary School URN 119330 · PR7 4JA	Primary	123	140	Good
Adlington St Paul's Church of England Primary School URN 146755 · PR6 9QZ	Primary	156	210	Good
Anderton Primary School URN 119202 · PR6 9NN	Primary	185	210	Good
Balshaw Lane Community Primary School URN 150117 · PR7 6NS	Primary	382	420	Not judged
Bretherton Endowed Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School URN 119461 · PR26 9AH	Primary	105	105	Good
Brindle Gregson Lane Primary School URN 151150 · PR5 0DR	Primary	184	210	Good
Brindle St James' Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School URN 119462 · PR6 8NH	Primary	66	70	Renewed framework

School information: Get Information about Schools (GIAS). Inspection information: Ofsted monthly management information. Inspection frameworks differ over time, so renewed-framework standards and previous overall effectiveness grades are shown separately.

Published expenditure£0.00No spending file imported

Revenue budget£0.00Not imported

Reported overspend£0.00Not imported outturn

Contracts00 active

Identified suppliers0Normalised entities

PEOPLE AND PLACE

Population snapshot

View full People profile

Population 120,839 2024

North West region 7,737,414

Five-year population change

+4,077 residents ↑ 3.5%

Chorley +3.5%

North West +5.1%

England +4.3%

Growth context

Chorley's population grew over five years. Its change was 1.6 percentage points below the North West and 0.8 percentage points below England.

2019–2024 ONS mid-year estimates

Population estimates and labour-market measures from ONS/Nomis.Official profile

BENEFITS & FINANCIAL PRESSURE

How is Universal Credit changing in Chorley?

People receiving Universal Credit and how the caseload has changed over the latest 24 months.

DWP · May 2026

PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 11,598 9.6% of the 2024 resident population May 2026

CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +8.8% +942 people

LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.2% +21 since April 2026

LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026

Chorley LOCAL AUTHORITY

9.6%

North West REGION

14.0%

England COUNTRY

12.3%

Percentage of the resident population receiving Universal Credit. This is not an unemployment rate.

24-MONTH TREND

People receiving Universal Credit

Monthly caseload recorded on the DWP Universal Credit system.

June 2024 May 2026

11,598 10,691 9,784

June 2024 May 2026

What does this measure?

Universal Credit provides financial support to people who are on a low income or out of work. These figures count people receiving Universal Credit, not households and not the number of people who are unemployed.

DWP Stat-Xplore

HOUSING LICENSING

HMOs and property licensing

Coverage not assessedNational HMO explorer

Licensed HMOsAwaiting registerOnly licensed properties will be counted

Identifiable HMO expenditureNot identifiableNot separately described in published transactions

Inspection and enforcement dataAwaiting dataNo activity source imported yet

Coverage note

A licensed HMO register has not yet been located for this council. CouncilMetrics does not estimate HMO expenditure from broad housing or social-care descriptions.

FINANCE

How this council raises and spends money

Comparable official outturn for 2024/25, reported to central government.

MHCLG official outturn

Total service expenditure

£15.94m 2024/25 actual outturn

Net revenue expenditure

£14.07m 2024/25 actual outturn

Council Tax requirement

£8.98m 2024/25 actual outturn

Unallocated reserves

£4.31m 2024/25 actual outturn

Service expenditure per resident £132

Median for councils of the same type £166 20.3% below peer median

2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn

Environmental and regulatory services Gross £13.67m · Income £8.50m

£5.17m

Culture and related services Gross £7.12m · Income £2.35m

£4.77m

Central services Gross £21.99m · Income £17.57m

£4.42m

Housing Gross £2.75m · Income £1.78m

£972.0k

Planning and development Gross £10.82m · Income £10.26m

£563.0k

Public health Gross £319.0k · Income £226.0k

£93.0k

Highways and transport Gross £955.0k · Income £1.01m

£-53.0k

CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£8.98m

Retained business rates£6.99m

Revenue Support Grant£127.0k

UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £4.09m

Closing £4.31m

£219.0k increase during 2024/25

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government · Revenue Outturn RS and RSX · values shown in pounds Official dataset

BORROWING AND INVESTMENTS

Balance-sheet position

A point-in-time view of debt and liquid investments at the end of 2026/27 Q1.

MHCLG quarterly return

Outstanding borrowing

£72.64m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Investments and cash

£22.07m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt

£50.57m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt per resident

£419 Per resident using latest population

This council's net debt per resident £419

Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 339.5% higher than the peer median

QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£21.25m quarterly reduction

2020/21 Q12021/22 Q32023/24 Q12024/25 Q32026/27 Q1

Latest quarterly movement −£21.25m −29.6%

Change across the series +£3.68m Net debt since 2020/21 Q1

What changed?

Net debt reduced during the latest quarter as the balance between borrowing and investments improved.

BORROWING COMPOSITION

Where the borrowing sits

PWLB, other longer-term borrowing and short-term borrowing.

2026/27 Q1

Public Works Loan Board£62.64m

Short-term borrowing£10.00m

MHCLG Borrowing and Investment live table · 2026/27 Q1 · values shown in pounds Official dataset

COUNCIL TAX & COLLECTION

How much council tax remains unpaid?

Council tax collection, outstanding arrears and write-offs reported to central government.

MHCLG 2025/26

Outstanding arrears

£8.58m Total outstanding at financial year-end

Collection rate

96.74% Collected against the in-year debit

Council tax written off

£567,000 Written off during the financial year

Council tax collected

£89.30m Receipts relating to the financial year

FIVE-YEAR TREND

How has unpaid council tax changed?

Outstanding arrears at each financial year-end.

2021/22–2025/26

OUTSTANDING ARREARS 2025/26

£8.58m

CHANGE SINCE 2021/22

+ 48.3%

+ £2.80m

ENGLAND CHANGE

+49.5%

Figures represent total outstanding council tax balances, including arrears carried forward from earlier years. Changes in council boundaries can affect historical comparisons.

OUTSTANDING ARREARS

Where does the unpaid council tax come from?

Breakdown of outstanding balances at the end of 2025/26.

£8.58m outstanding

CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £3.18m

37.0% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £5.40m

63.0% of outstanding arrears

Current-year arrears Earlier-years arrears

Earlier-years arrears represent unpaid council tax carried forward from previous financial years. These figures do not identify individual households or establish whether balances are recoverable.

COLLECTION PERFORMANCE

How does this council compare?

England 2025/26

In-year collection rate 96.74%

England average: 95.60% · 1.14 percentage points above England

Outstanding arrears include unpaid balances from earlier financial years and are not the same as council tax uncollected during 2025/26. Monetary values are rounded for display. Official MHCLG source

SPENDING

Published directorate expenditure

Explore all 0 records

CONTRACTS

Largest contracts

Explore all 0 contracts

Contract	Supplier	Status	End date	Original value

SUPPLIERS

Largest supplier exposure

Dated transactions

Supplier	Payments	Published expenditure

PROVENANCE

Source documents

39 imported

Document	Dataset	Period	Status	Official source
Housing Delivery Test 2025 results — Chorley	mhclg housing delivery test	HDT 2025–HDT 2025	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — Chorley	mhclg planning ps2	1979 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — Chorley	mhclg planning ps1	1996 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
Defra local authority waste statistics — Chorley Borough Council	defra local authority waste	2010/11–2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — Chorley	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — Chorley	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — Chorley	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — Chorley	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — Chorley	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — Chorley	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — Chorley	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — Chorley	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — Chorley	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — Chorley	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — Chorley	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — Chorley	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — Chorley	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — Chorley	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — Chorley	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — Chorley	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — Chorley	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — Chorley	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — Chorley	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — Chorley	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — Chorley	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — Chorley	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — Chorley	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — Chorley	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — Chorley	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — Chorley	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — Chorley	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — Chorley	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — Chorley	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — Chorley	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — Chorley	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — Chorley	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — Chorley	mhclg borrowing investment	2026/27 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — Chorley	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — Chorley	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2024/25	imported	Open

How to read these figures and the Financial Health Score

Budget summaries and financial positions retain the reporting year and assurance status of their original source. Draft or unaudited values are labelled separately from audited outturn figures. The Financial Health Score uses reserves cover, net debt per resident, liquidity and quarterly debt direction from central MHCLG returns. Each component is converted to a percentile among councils of the same authority type; available components are weighted 35%, 30%, 20% and 15% respectively. A score is published only when at least three components covering 65% of the weighting are available. It is a comparative financial indicator, not an assessment of service quality or political performance.