Local groups stepping up to help services continue
A range of local organisations and town and parish councils are coming forward with positive ideas of new ways that services Telford & Wrekin Council says it can no longer afford to run can continue.
This comes as Telford & Wrekin Council must make £30 million of cuts as part of its budget proposals. These proposals highlight that after April 2017, it can no longer afford to run a range of services including six borough libraries, markets and community centres. These cuts have been delayed until this date to allow time for alternative solutions with partners to be found.
The budget proposals are against a background of Government grant to the Council continuing to be cut, next year by another 20% and Telford & Wrekin Council already making £80 million worth of cuts since 2010.
At least ten town and parish councils and community groups are already involved in active discussions with Telford & Wrekin Council on new ways these services could be delivered from April 2017, when the Council can no longer afford to fund these services.
This includes discussions about different ways that library services, community centres and markets could be run as well as extra environmental services.
The Council is confident that more solutions will come forward as discussions with these and other groups continue to progress.
This will build on many close partnerships already in place between such as Parish Environmental Teams which work in specific parish areas and are funded by their town or parish council and Telford & Wrekin.
Cllr Shaun Davies, Cabinet member for Neighbourhood Services, said: "When we launched our budget proposals at the start of the year, we asked any community group to come forward with their ideas for how these services could be run differently. The response has been very encouraging and positive.
"We’re now discussing how these could be kept going in a different way, outside of the council, and how we can help with this transition.
"The community spirit and commitment I’ve witnessed so far makes me very confident that many of these services will continue, albeit in a different way and that we’ll start to see some of these coming through very soon."
