Conservative cuts ‘’deeply damaging”
Conservative cuts to Hampshire County Council services are set to be "deeply damaging" according to local Liberal Democrats.
Councillor Gavin James leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Basingstoke and Deane Council says:
"These proposed cuts will leave a trail of devastation through services in Hampshire. So far we have seen just the plans for transport, roads and waste and the scale of cuts is deeply damaging. Whether your someone who relies of the bus service, a parent wanting a child to get safely to school, someone wanting to use the council tip or a driver fed up with potholes and congestion, these cuts are bad news."
Amongst the proposals put forward by the Conservatives are:
- • To stop funding all subsidised bus services - (which cover 13% of all Hampshire bus services at present)
- • To stop funding all community transport e.g. dial-a-ride, call and go and community bus schemes
- • To stop funding School Crossing Patrols (hoping to get schools and parish councils to pay for them)
- • To close half of all the Household waste and recycling centres in Hampshire (e.g. Wade Road)
- • To axe another £500,000 from Winter Road Maintenance, including a reduction in Priority One salting routes
- • A further dimming of street lights and switching off the street lights in some areas in the middle of the night (e.g.1.00am to 4.00am)
The Lib Dem Group Leader commented: "The Conservatives didn't mention the scale of the cuts either during May council elections or during their so called 'budget consultation'. Years of Conservative mismanagement have taken a toll and the end results is cuts that will be deeply damaging to Hampshire residents. Once you start closing Waste Tips and axing bus services it is very hard to get them back again.
"It is mind boggling to hear Conservatives admit that the highways maintenance service 'is now operating at a level below which it would be at risk of not meeting statutory obligations' and yet they propose no action to improve things."