Savage cuts and hikes in charges revealed by Canterbury City Council
Comments |
Six fewer sets of public toilets, three
fewer museums and charges for clear recycling sacks - these are
among the ways Canterbury City Council intends to
save £3.5 million over the next two years.
The authority has been forced into
this position - which includes cutting 52 
jobs - because of a drop
in income, especially from parking and planning charges.
It is also
expecting less cash from the Government, whichever political party
is in control.
So the council
has used its draft budget for 2010/11 to plan closing the six
least used public conveniences, charge £2 for an
additional roll of clear sacks and shut Canterbury's Westgate
Towers museum and the Roman Pavement while turning Herne Bay
Museum into an educational space.
There are also
plans to demolish Westgate Hall in Canterbury to make way for
parking spaces and close the council's Whitstable office with the
aim of providing services from somewhere else in the town.
But it says it
will maintain frontline services and try to keep council tax
increases to a minimum.
John Gilbey,
leader of
the Conservative-controlled council, said: “Our
aim has been to protect the frontline services that people tell us
they value most and maintain funding for the things we are required
to do by law.
"This has
meant we have had to look for most of the savings from the
discretionary services that we choose to fund.
“Savings options we considered but
decided not to implement include charging for collections of garden
waste and closing any of our leisure centres.
"We are pleased that we have been
able to protect these services that we know people
like."
Projects such as the redevelopment of
the Beaney Institute and Marlowe Theatre will still go ahead, but
the proposed move of the market to Iron Bar Lane to allow the
refurbishment of St George's Street is being put on hold until
summer 2012.
The plans form part of a
draft consultation document and
people have until Friday, December 18 to comment on it. Copies of
it are available on http://www.canterbury.gov.uk/
or in council offices.
Email your views with your
name, address (street name and area) and a daytime telephone number
to kentishgazette@thekmgroup.co.uk
You can also write to the
editor, Gazette House, 5-8 Boorman Way, Estuary View Business Park,
Whitstable, Kent CT5 3SE.
For more on this story and of
the reaction that matters, see this week's Kentish Gazette,
Whitstable Gazette and Herne Bay Gazette out on Thursday, November
5.
Friday, October 30 2009
The KM Group does not moderate comments.
Please click here for our house rules.