Protest as Dudley Council agrees £34m cuts
Protesters gathered outside Dudley Council House as a cost-cutting budget which will see youth services slashed, parking charges rise and street lights switched off after midnight was given the go-ahead.
Around 30 members of the Dudley Coalition Against the Cuts campaign group waved placards on the steps of the building and urged the council to protect services for 'vulnerable' residents.
During a three-hour debate in the council chamber, the budget proposals for £34million of cuts over the next three years and a possible further £23m slashed from budgets by 2017 were passed with 42 councillors voting in favour and 25 against.
Jobs under threat as Dudley Council cuts given nod
A council tax freeze for 2014/15 was also approved.
Speaking before the meeting last night, Jerry Langford, spokesman for Dudley Coalition Against the Cuts, said he was concerned about the impact on services, particularly those for young people, the elderly and those with disabilities.
"Service that we have come to expect the council to provide like youth services that are the day to day activity of the council will disappear.
Introducing the budget proposals, finance boss Councillor Pete Lowe said the council faced 'massive financial challenges'.
He said the authority had 'tried as far as possible to protect our services from those who need us the most.'
"We have made £42m of savings over the last three years and we propose to make £34m of further savings over the next three years.
"But we forecast that funding cuts will leave us with a further gap of £23m that we need to address by 2016/17.
"We need to have made more than 40 per cent savings in real terms over six years.
"We will not achieve this without being radical and we will come back to cabinet in July with more detailed proposals."
Among the savings outlined are cuts to street cleaning, which will see residents being encouraged to hold their own litter picks, and plans to shorten the collection period for green waste to save £100,000.
The council also plans to start turning some street lights off after midnight by 2016/17 to reduce energy bills by £100,000.
Maintenance of parks and public spaces will also be reduced to claw back £270,000.
Over the next two years changes will be made to some day centres to make savings, and the youth service will also be scaled back, with the possible closure of three centres.
A revamp of children's centres is on the cards.
There are also plans to increase car park charges to bring in £100,000.
