Over £20 million has been added to Warwick District Council's borrowing debts in the last year, new figures have revealed.

Analysis of data from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) shows UK councils owe a combined £122.2 billion to lenders, equivalent to £1,791 per resident - as of April 2025.

At Warwick District Council (WDC), this figure hit £259,351,000 in 2024-25, up £21,194,000 from the year before.

This equates to £1,693.41 per person in the district.

Councils can borrow funds to invest in projects such as schools, leisure centres and theatres - they can also borrow to invest in property that will bring in an income over and above repayments on the debt. 

At Warwickshire County Council (WCC), debt currently sits at £272,975,000 - but has not increased in the last 12 months.

This equates to £441.83 per resident in the county

How does this compare to other councils?

The borrowing picture is not the same across all Warwickshire councils.

WDC tops the scale for the highest amount of debt per resident, followed by Rugby and then North Warwickshire.

Warwick District Council also has the highest amount of debt in total of any of the five district and borough authorities - more than the others all combined in fact.

It is the only council which has taken on more debt in the last 12 months.

Meanwhile Stratford-on-Avon District Council is one of just 32 nationally with no borrowing on its books at the end of 2024-25.

The national picture is better for WDC, with England's average council debt currently at £1,688 per resident.

Nearby Birmingham's debt stands at £3,499,738,000, followed by £331,256,000 in Solihull and in Coventry £249,068,000.

What have the councils said?

Nub News put the figures to both WCC and WDC to ask whether they are cause for concern or not.

The county council said all its borrowing at the end of 2024-25 is from the treasury's public works loans board.

"The balance relates to loans taken out between 1993 and 2010, which were wholly used to finance capital expenditure," a WCC spokesperson said.

On the council's finances more generally, a meeting in February agreed the 2025-26 budget and a "balanced" medium-term financial strategy which will run to 2029/30.

"The council published its 2024/25 statement of accounts on 30 June 2025 in line with the statutory deadline, the accounts show the council holds £1.145bn of net assets, including £233.0m of usable reserves," WCC added.

Meanwhile the district council said its revenues are "in good shape" and has "sufficient funds to service borrowing requirements" along with "healthy" reserves. 

WDC said it has a "strong balance sheet", with assets worth over £586 million.

"Maintaining financial sustainability is a strategic priority for the council and is fundamental to ensuring that there are sufficient resources to deliver high quality services that are responsive and accessible to the needs of the district's growing population," a statement said.

"To date the council has used borrowing as an effective tool to facilitate investment, most notably linked to the acquisition and development of new social housing (an area where our council performs above the national average)."

The local authority said most of the added debt last year was for social housing, which has seen 147 new council homes built.

"The council's Budget and Treasury Management Strategy 2025 supports this approach to General Fund, Housing Revenue Account and Service Investment activities," it added. 

"This gives local authorities with housing stock such as Warwick District Council the responsibility to take on the settlement of debt in exchange for greater freedoms in managing the Housing Revenue Account through full retention of rental income received."

The council also pointed to its "successful" joint venture with Vistry through Milverton Homes - the council's housing company which has seen work start on 620 new homes in Kenilworth.

"This investment has delivered a positive net financial return to the general fund, which will continue until the associated loans are repaid in full by 2028," the statement continued.

Borrowing has also been used to support the building of Kenilworth's new leisure centres, school, part of the recycling facility in Coventry and to purchase new waste collection lorries.

"Forward plans to improve returns from its investments, will enable the council to balance its budget over the medium term and create a sustainable platform for ongoing service delivery," the statement concluded.