Luton Borough Council to discuss service cuts

A number of cuts to public services are to be considered by Luton Borough Council at a meeting later.

Waste collections and street cleaning are two of the services the executive committee will discuss.

Estimated savings include £1.4m on grounds maintenance and £1m on fortnightly instead of weekly bin collections.

The council expects it will have to find £48m of savings by 2016, including £22m in the 2013-14 budget.

Other measures to be discussed are reducing maintenance budgets for bus shelters and road markings, and no longer contributing to "festive lighting" in the town centre and Bury Park.

The council is also proposing to stop school uniform grants and reduce its park and ground maintenance costs by having no floral displays, and reducing the frequency of grass cutting to as little as once a year in some cases.

It also plans to save money by shedding posts in its street cleansing division and, as well as changing the bin collection schedule, it is looking at charging for picking up bulky household items and stopping the collection of green waste.

The proposals are due to go before the full council in December.