Nuneaton and Bedworth Council forge ahead with cuts to save £1.2m

[dutchman]

Labour say it is the first time in four decades they have made cuts



It is ‘backs against the wall’ time admit leading councillors as they agree to make cuts in a bid to save £1.2m to balance the budget.

Councillor Dennis Harvey, leader of Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, admitted it was the first time in the four decades since the local authority was formed that they have had to make such drastic cuts.

As reported, The Breakaway club, which was based at the Civic Hall in Bedworth, provided half term fun for youngsters is being stopped.

That is not the only loss at the Civic Hall as the bistro is to be downgraded to a coffee shop with limited food offerings.

Other changes being proposed as part of desperate attempts to balance the budget at the Town Hall include the sad loss of around six jobs and several other posts being left vacant.

Cllr Harvey said that, even without the raft of changes, the council still needs to finds another £443,000 to make all of the savings needed.

But the leading Labour group came under fire from opposition for some of the services that are to be affected.

What did opposing councillors and the public say?

Cllr Keith Kondakor said: “We have had this budget dreamt up in a series of private, multiple hour cabinet meetings which no one knows about. We have a serious problem with democracy with the borough.”

He dubbed the council’s catastrophic £2m over spend on the council depot move to a new unit in Gresham Unit as a ‘blackhole’

“£2m fit-up costs and we are getting more and more spent on it as all of these little add-ons keep coming. You are not managing your assets properly," he said.

He criticised cuts to the grounds maintenance budget, describing the current service as ‘appalling’ and also the decision to cut the Mayor’s allowance, not the car, which costs £25,000 a year.

“The biggest bit of stupidity is cutting the planning enforcement, my area Weddington and nearby areas like St Nicolas and soon to be Galley Common are impacted by developers not even meeting their planning conditions, putting mud on roads, causing noise, working outside of acceptable hours, not meeting their conditions and obligations, “ he said.

“To cut yet more staff and enforcement is an absolutely appalling thing to do. We have all the impacts of the development and you are now taking away our only protection from even bigger impact, it is basically a developers charter to pollute and destroy our borough.”

Michele Kondakor pointed out the money ‘wasted’ on the ill-fated climbing tower and the decision to allow an outside contractor to run it.

“Just admit it was a big mistake, it is very limited in how it is used and when it is used, it has wasted no end of money, stop throwing money at it, it is not giving the people of this borough the exercise that it was designed to – it is a waste of time,” she said.

Cllr Kris Wilson, leader of the opposing Conservatives, condemned the decision to ‘privatise services’ and added: “It is a sad state of affairs when this council, and its leadership, cannot apologise about the mess it has caused with the climbing tower. It should be ceased straight away, the funding that you took from the much-loved Play Rangers, which was far more loved than the climbing tower ever got to, and was operational far more of the time, you took away a valuable service from residents.”