Will Town Council Offices Close?
A proposal being discussed at the full council meeting of Amber Valley Borough Council on 13th July, is to close three town centre offices in Alfreton, Belper and Heanor.
Council officers have recommended that a consultation exercise should be carried out on a proposal that would see all functions and services removed from the three towns, leaving only the AVBC offices in Ripley. This is another part of the cost cutting measures being considered for deployment following further cuts to local funding by Westminster at the last budget.
The Conservative government has cut funding by £2.3 million per year by 2020/21 at a time when the council already has a budget deficit from previous massive cuts and reductions in support.
Leader of the Council, Cllr Kevin Buttery, said: “I must stress that this is not a decision to close the three offices immediately. We intend to consult with the users of the services and report back to a future Council meeting. The scale of our budget deficit, however, is significant and it needs to be addressed at the earliest opportunity in order to enable the Council to function and set a ‘legal’ budget.”
So a quarter percent cut in the council tax just before the election, followed closely by a panic that there isn’t enough money, and proposals to increase council tax and cut services. Questions will be asked.
Once again it will be ordinary people losing out again as more and more public services are slashed. What about those who stuggle to travel over to Ripley, or can ill afford it? Those who do not have access to the internet or phones, or simply may need help filling out forms? The Tory austerity agenda is killing our society and slowly dismantling our communities.