SURGING energy costs have seen Colchester Council have to hike up admission fees and the cost of cremations.

With energy prices and supply costs having risen due to the after-effects of Covid-19 and the Ukraine war, many sectors are being forced to combat unforeseen expenditure.

Colchester Council is estimating energy will be more than 45 per cent more expensive over the coming year, and now, it is looking to plug the hole in the budget.

Official council documents show the breakdown of prices which are due to go up by an average of five per cent from November for both museum admissions and cremations.

It means entry into Colchester Castle will be more expensive.

Access to Hollytrees Museum and the Natural History Museum will continue to be free.

A section of the council report said: “[The cost increase] is too high to mitigate by reducing expenditure alone.”

It added keeping the fees as they are would widen the deficit between Colchester Museum’s income and the costs of running the facility.

The increase means the standard entry for adults, which currently sits at £11.25, will go up to £11.95 – although one ticket is still valid for a calendar year for Colchester residents.

Across the board, the overall price rise is calculated to generate an extra £11,520 between November and March, at which point the council could consider altering prices again.

The cost of cremations is also set to rise.

Gas bills, which previously sat at nearly £25,000 in the last financial year for two of Essex’s crematorium facilities, are now estimated to run to £60,000 during the first five months of this financial year alone. An adult cremation, previously priced at £894, will now be £939.

The deputy leader of the council, Adam Fox, said he hoped residents will respect the council’s decision.

He said: “We have taken the difficult decision to increase fees and charges to help mitigate rising energy costs affecting our front-line services such as the crematorium and our museums.

“We strive to offer the very best services to our residents by adding value wherever we can.

“We trust our residents and visitors understand the very difficult position we are in and the tough decisions that have been made.”