Herefordshire Council to cut £36m in three years

Residents of Herefordshire are being asked to suggest how £36m of cuts can be made by the county council during the next three years.

Herefordshire Council is looking for views on cuts proposals and changes to services, such as refuse collections and children's centre services.

A council spokeswoman said it is not yet known if jobs may be affected as reviews are still being undertaken.

A three-week public consultation has begun and will end on 31 January.

Other proposed cuts include reducing opening hours for customer service centres and libraries, the withdrawal of some public transport routes, delaying major infrastructure projects and reducing the funding available to support tourism.

Councillor John Jarvis, leader of Herefordshire Council, said: "In response to previous funding cuts and service pressures, we have worked hard over the last two years to reduce our spending by approximately £21 million, protecting front-line services where possible.

"However, we now need to make additional savings at a time when the demands on many of our services are increasing.

"After taking into account the reduction in funding from the government and recognising the increasing demographic and service related pressures, we need to save a total of approximately £10 million in 2013/14, with further savings of approximately £13 million predicted each year between 2014 and 2016."