Council funding gap passes first hurdle

From the Salisbury Journal, first published Monday 30th Jan 2006.

SALISBURY district council's solution to its £1.4m funding gap has passed the first hurdle.

The cabinet waved through a financial strategy that will see Tisbury sports centre and Durrington swimming pool saved but result in cuts to arts grants and the introduction of Sunday parking charges.

The three-year plan will also lead to a number of internal efficiencies, including reducing staff presence at park-and-ride sites, using fewer agency personnel and combining the 24-hour CCTV and Care Connect monitoring services.

The opening of the London Road park-and-ride site will also be delayed, some staff salaries will be saved and community groups will be helped to find external sources of funding, rather than relying on council grants.

The cabinet also approved a crackdown on council tax fraud, and parish councils will be asked to increase their contributions for services.

There has been elation in Tisbury and Durrington since the threatened sports centre and swimming pool were given a stay of execution, but council officers warn efficiencies will have to be made.

They hope the number of people using the facilities will increase by 2.5 per cent in each of the next three years.

Sports users will also face price increases, and premium payments for staff working at evenings and weekends will be cut, in a bid to shave £85,000 off the budget.

The cabinet member for community and housing, John Cole-Morgan, said that, although the facilities would not be closed, sports as well as the arts, would come under pressure from the cutbacks.

He said: "There is a misconception that, because arts funding is being cut, the arts are the only victims.

"But the sports centres will face service reductions and there will be an effect on the hours of opening, as we seek to find efficiencies."

Council leader Kevin Wren said: "Although we have challenges in front of us, the commitment is there to protect our services.

"This report mirrors the aspirations of people but we have to reconcile this with the financial situation."

The full council will next debate the budget when it meets on February 20 to agree council tax figures for the year ahead.

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