Fears of financial crisis remain 100 days since the local elections

Before the election the council faced the prospect of having to declare itself effectively bankrupt after unexpected social care costs hit finances hard.

Spending controls were introduced plus a review of how the council operates which began to seek cheaper ways of working and since the election the cuts have kept on coming.

Council’s leader, Cllr Patrick Harley, insists the position is improving and the danger of going bust is receding however finance chiefs are still warning there is a high risk the authority may not be able to afford to meet its statutory requirements.

Plans to bring back parking charges for the first two hours on council car parks were met with outrage by town centre bosses who feared people would be put off visiting shops if costs of parking went up.

After discussion in council committee the original plan, to charge £2 for an hour and £2.50 for two hours, was watered down to a sliding scale of charges starting at £1.20.

The next full meeting of Dudley Council will discuss the plan along with a second phase which aims to introduce on-street charges across the borough as well as introducing fees on car parks which are currently free.

The council has also launched a review of two adventure centres for young people which are losing money.

Astley Burf Outdoor Activity Centre in Worcestershire and Sycamore Green Adventure Centre in Gornal are both under review with the option of outsourcing services being considered.

Closure has not been ruled out and a petition calling for the Gornal centre to be saved has already attracted more than 2,500 signatures.

The council is also reviewing how it runs leisure centres.

In July the authority invited bids to run its centres hoping to save on spending by outsourcing the centres to an external provider.

Speaking at the time Cllr Harley, said: “We know the important role our leisure service has in our community, but the council needs to make financial savings so is exploring options to reduce the amount of money currently used to subsidise the service.”

Another service from the council under review as it tries to cut £37m from its budget over the next three years is town halls.

The authority says it pays out £600,000 a year to run Dudley, Stourbridge and Halesowen’s town halls and has invited community organisations or entertainment groups to bid to run the venues.

Another option under consideration is relaxing regulations to allow the town halls to be operated by their staff in a more commercial manner however the council has also said closure in 2025 is also a possibility.

Another saving announced since the election is the decision to turn down street lights by 25 percent for five hours each night as well as switching them on later and switching them off earlier.

Dudley Council’s next full meeting will take place at Dudley Council House on Thursday August 22