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Leicester City Council makes U-turn on some of its planned cuts

Summary: The City Council has made a U-turn on some of the most controversial cuts in next year's budget.

The Labour administration's backbench councillors, led by former leader Ross Willmott, backed a motion at the group's meeting to cancel some of the planned cuts, which were due to come into force from April.

The council will not now charge for entry to New Walk Museum and Newarke Houses Museum as planned, and will not close Jewry Wall Museum, Belgrave Hall, Abbey Pumping Station and the Guildhall to the public.

Bus subsidy cuts have been scaled back by £66,000 which means routes, including the popular 52 Hamilton service, will be saved.

The threatened Care and Repair support service, which helps people on low incomes to organise building and other home improvement work, will remain.

The original proposals were announced last month by council leader Veejay Patel.

Both Councillor Patel and Councillor Willmott are vying to the be city's first elected mayor at May's local elections.

Coun Patel said: "We've listened to the views of the people of Leicester, and acted upon them.

"The reason we put the original proposals out for consultation was to gauge what people thought of them. The choices we are making are tough ones and we always knew they would change as we moved through the consultation period."

Coun Willmott said: "The Labour Party opposes cuts to frontline services, yet the council's leadership originally planned to cut key services such as museums, youth projects and planning."

Soon after Monday's meeting, Coun Willmott used his blog to trumpet the climbdown.

He said: "Many thanks to all those people who campaigned against the proposed closure of our museums.

"Along with fellow council backbenchers, I supported alternatives to these cuts which means they will not go ahead.

"This is the second time in my political life I have helped save the museums from closure."

He said in the blog post that he was helped by councillors Patrick Kitterick and Andy Connelly, both of whom left the cabinet last year after Coun Patel took over as leader.

The updated budget will be ratified by the ruling cabinet on Monday, February 21, and by the full council two days later.

The U-turn will be funded by cuts to other areas of spending, including media advertising and council building improvements.

Stuart Bailey, of Leicester Civic Society, said the proposed cuts to the museum service had risked turning the city into a cultural desert.

He said: "There seems to have been an outbreak of common sense at the city council and they've done an about-face. If these cuts had gone through, it would have been atrocious."

Another project no longer in danger is the Book Start scheme, to encourage children to read.

Ian Leaver, Leicester National Union of Teachers secretary, had been campaigning to save it. He said: "If the city council has taken on board what the trade unions have been saying then that's a good thing."

Nathan Davis, 34, from Newfoundpool, Leicester, said: "I was very worried about the cuts to museums. They've only got the Newarke Houses Museum running again a few years ago and reducing opening times would have been a real shame."

Daniela Sommefeldt, 61, of Stoneygate, Leicester, said: "I go to quite a few of the museums in Leicester. I'm happy they're not making changes."

Malcolm Hunter, spokesman for Leicester Friends of the Earth, welcomed the news that cuts to bus subsidies had been scaled back.

The winners and losers in Leicester City Council U-turn

Source: This is Leicestershire

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