Councillors back calls to stop council shedding 100 staff

A Green party motion has called on the mayor to pause the plans

Councillors have backed calls to temporarily halt the transfer of staff from Bristol City Council to the West of England Combined Authority (Weca).

It involves the loss of 70 posts in the council's strategic transport and city design unit and 30 new roles at Weca.

A Green party motion, voted for by 40 councillors, called on the mayor to pause the plans and allow them to be considered by a full council meeting.

Labour insisted the cuts could help save more than £1m per year.

Last month, advisers at the council warned the plans might end up costing the city in the long run if it had to hire expensive private consultants.

Green councillor Ed Plowden, who put forward the motion, said: "We are embarking on two of the largest regeneration projects in Bristol in living memory - Temple Quarter and Western Harbour.

"To do this well, we need expertise embedded in the council for the long haul.

"Incredibly the cabinet is proposing to transfer all responsibility for transport strategy to Weca and disband the in-house expertise in the city design service."

The Greens argued upcoming development of Bristol's harbour would require the staff to be retained

Labour has said that difficult decisions need to be made on council funding.

"This administration has spent seven years doing everything we can to protect residents from the tsunami of austerity cuts.

"Now we have our backs against the wall... if this proposal doesn't go ahead other savings will need to be found.

"Transferring staff is a logical proposal."

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