Staffordshire's Shire Hall hit in £102m cuts
The historic Shire Hall in Staffordshire will lose its library as part of sweeping £102 million cuts approved by county councillors.
But Staffordshire County Council bosses agreed to freeze council tax for the fourth year in a row.
Day care service centres for disabled adults and archive buildings will close, while youth services and libraries will be hit as part of the cuts, which were approved yesterday.
A total of £19.3 million will be slashed from the 2014/15 budget and £102m over the next five years.
As part of the cuts Stafford Library will move from its current home at the historic Shire Hall to the council's £38m Staffordshire Place offices, saving £75,000 a year.
Councillors ruled that the historic Grade II listed Shire Hall will not close and be sold off, but said it was only 'for the time being.'
The green light has also been given to merge the county's archives into a single archive building in a bid to save £75,000.
A review will be carried out on the county's 38 youth centres and some could shut as a result, shaving £4.5m from the budget.
The budget for providing home to school transport for children with special educational needs will also be slashed by £500,000 and services for families and young children will see cuts of up to £3m a year.
Council leader Philip Atkins defended the decision to agree to the cuts at the meeting of full council yesterday.
He said: "This budget is about bringing growth, jobs and greater prosperity to Staffordshire and more opportunities for our people."
