£157m
Council spend since 2018
Source: EEBC Spotlight on Spend — published financial data 2018–2025
Council Spending Tops £157m Since 2018 — Where Did the Money Go?
An analysis of Epsom & Ewell Borough Council's published spending data reveals the top suppliers, service areas, and trends across seven years of financial records.
Total spend
£157m+
Transactions
96,483
Years covered
2018–2025
Service areas
20+
The Scale of EEBC Spending
Since January 2018, Epsom & Ewell Borough Council has published over 96,000 individual spending transactions as part of the government's transparency requirements. Every payment over £500 to an external supplier must be disclosed. Together these add up to more than £157 million.
This data gives residents a powerful window into how their council tax is spent — from street cleaning contracts to legal fees, park maintenance to IT systems.
Top Spending Areas
Waste & Environment
~28%The largest category. Household waste collection, recycling, street cleaning and environmental enforcement.
Housing & Homelessness
~22%Temporary accommodation, housing benefit administration, and rough sleeping support — costs have risen sharply.
Planning & Development
~14%Planning enforcement, building control, and development management services.
Leisure & Parks
~11%Rosebery Park, Horton Country Park, leisure centre contracts, and public open spaces.
IT & Corporate Services
~9%Digital infrastructure, software licences, and back-office systems.
The 2022–23 Spike Explained
⚠️ Why did spending jump so sharply in 2022?
A significant portion of the apparent 2022–23 increase relates to government grant pass-through payments — money received from central government and passed directly to residents and businesses. This inflates the raw figures without representing additional council expenditure.
Stripping out these one-off pass-through items, the underlying trend shows steady annual growth of approximately 4–6%, broadly in line with inflation and service demand.
What This Means for Residents
The data shows a council managing a complex portfolio of services under growing financial pressure. Housing costs in particular have risen significantly, driven by national increases in rough sleeping and temporary accommodation demand.
As EEBC transitions to East Surrey Council, understanding historic spending patterns will be important for scrutinising future budgets and ensuring accountability continues through the merger.
Explore the data yourself
Use our interactive Money page to search by supplier, service area, or category across all 96,000+ transactions.