Council announces budget cut reductions

School crossing patrols, flood defence, coastal protection and remedial earthworks have all escaped the axe after councillors agreed to drop proposed reductions in funding.

Councillors approved a recommendation to halt plans to implement proposed cuts of £55,000 to the school crossing patrols budget, reduce flood defence works by £52,000 and withdraw £11,000 of funding from coastal protection works.

A budget for remedial earthworks, which includes highway support schemes such as the construction of retaining walls and embankments, also escaped a planned reduction of £46,000.

A proposed cut of £312,000 to the county's cleansing service was reduced by £100,000.

Executive Board Member for Technical Services, Councillor Colin Evans said: “We had some very difficult decisions to make when it came to the budget for next year, but there were a number of frontline services we felt very strongly about.

“Keeping the public safe is one of our main priorities, particularly the safety of our children which is why we decided to retain the budget for school crossing patrols.

“Similarly, the remedial earthworks programme is vital as it has a significant impact on our roads; a prime example is the recent work undertaken in Capel Dewi where the road was in danger of falling into the river had we not built a new retaining wall.

“Protecting our beautiful coastline and carrying out flood defence works is so important as we have seen in recent years with the stormy weather and the devastating impact it can have on communities.

“Carmarthenshire is one of the cleanest counties in Wales and we want to keep it that way. Our staff do a fantastic job all year round and in all types of weather conditions. Maintaining high cleanliness standards for both residents and visitors is vital.”

The council is in line to reduce its budget by more than £12million next year and must find further savings of another £45million over the next three years.