Shrewsbury Town Council considers taking on axe-threatened services
Shrewsbury’s town council is set to consider plans to take on services which are threatened by cuts from the county council, it says.
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At present, Shrewsbury Town Council looks after a range of services within Shrewsbury including the management of parks and green spaces, and other public facilities including community centres and some public toilets.
However, the authority now says it is looking into areas where it could take on extra responsibilities, or work, in partnership with the unitary authority to ensure services are protected from a £62m programme of cuts proposed by Shropshire Council.
An update from the town council’s SLA (service level agreement) working group said it was looking at a number of high profile non-statutory services in the town, with a report due to be delivered next month.
That could include areas such as leisure centres and litter picking – as well as the monitoring of the town’s CCTV system, which is earmarked by the county council for potential cost cuts.
“It is clear that our work with Shropshire Council might involve us taking responsibility for some of the services which have become at risk as a consequence of the swingeing cuts which they were considering in key areas,” said Shrewsbury Town Council leader Alan Mosley.
“Areas currently being considered for cuts at Shropshire Council include leisure centres and facilities, green spaces, litter picking and collection and CCTV – these and perhaps there may be other areas considered. Obviously we will wish to protect the standards we currently deliver through the highways, recreation and green space SLA.
“There will be a need for some degree of confidentiality but residents can be assured that when proposals are agreed there will be full transparency and open consultation.”
Last month, Shropshire Council agreed a budget which outlined around £62m of cuts, designed to balance the books in the face of rising social care costs and demand pressures in the county.
The budget included around £334,000 of savings based around changes to Shrewsbury’s CCTV monitoring scheme, alongside other savings likely to affect the town including reorganisation of libraries, museums and leisure services.
