Cllr. Marcus Hart, Conservative Group Leader on WFDC says, “In my 19 years on the Council I have never seen such a shambolic budget setting process.

The Health Concern/Independent/Green led Council despite saying they want to work with all groups clearly don’t want to work with the Conservative Group who represent the largest political party on the Council.

They failed to get their original budget approved by Council and we believe that the budget as originally presented was flawed and lets down all of communities on so many levels.

A proposal to reduce the community leadership fund, scrap the Environmental Protection Officer post and scrap the grants for community groups and good causes will have a detrimental effect on  the lives of our residents.

We believe we need an urgent senior management restructure and re-think at how we join up with other councils to share back office services to ensure we support our valued front line services. Since 2019, our cultural, arts and leisure offer has been decimated."

Cllr. Nathan Desmond, the Conservative Group’s budget spokesman added, “Council tax payers are going to see an increase in council tax but with a further reduction in front line services. Their localism proposals are ill thought out and not properly costed and they unreasonably want the Town and Parish Councils to take on more whilst cutting services and increasing tax. This is an incompetent administration that has run out of ideas. First Labour leave the Progressive Alliance, then the Liberal Democrats and they have to have an eleventh hour deal with Labour to vote the budget through.”

Marcus added, “At the reconvened meeting we were still not in a position to support the budget as we feel this is a Health Concern/Independent and Green led Council which is letting our communities badly down.”