Licence fees paid by Sark’s road-users are going up again as the island tries to cover the cost of all the road maintenance that is needed.
The Douzaine is responsible for road maintenance and said it is trying to balance the deficit between road maintenance costs and income.
The shortfall has fallen from £20,000 to £8,000 this year, following a near 30% increase in licence fee rates last year, but the Douzaine said further increases are necessary or Sark’s roads “would soon become unusable”.
To prevent that happening, Chief Pleas has agreed to put up the rates payable by cyclists, horse riders, and other road users by 4.3% – or RPI – in June.
However, the Douzaine warned that rises greater than RPI could be introduced in the future, because road maintenace costs are rising faster than inflation.
| 2026 | proposed for 2027 | |
| Horse | £33 | £35 |
| Dog | £17 | £18 |
| Bicycle | £18 | £19 |
| Electric Bicycle | £18 | £19 |
| Tractor | £300 | £315 |
| Construction Vehicle | £300 | £315 |
| Tractor Driver | £20 | £21 |
| Mobility Scooter | £20 | £21 |
| Carriages – 2 wheels | £10 | £11 |
| Carriages – Victoria | £20 | £21 |
| Carriages – Wagonette | £30 | £32 |
| Carriages – Van | £40 | £42 |
| Carriage Driver | £15 | £16 |
| Carriage Driver from 1 July (half year) | £7.50 | £8 |
It said: “The Douzaine does not like increasing fees. We are very aware they are costs many people will have to pay. After last year’s re-balancing, we feel that it is reasonable to make no major changes for 2027 and simply apply an RPI increase.”
Last year, tractor licenses doubled to a whopping £300, as the Douzaine looked to catch up a deficit that had build up from four years of no increases.
It also mentioned that from next spring, no road works other than emergency maintenance could be completed until the summer reset, as all of the budget is used up by that point in the financial year.
