North Somerset Council rows back on £500k budget cuts

In total, about £500,000 of cuts were taken out of the budget

North Somerset Council has rowed back on some of its budget cuts, saying they "have listened" to residents.

It included a plan, abandoned last month, to save £300,000 by closing Backwell Recycling Centre.

The council has now also dropped proposals to review numbers of family social workers and to increase the cost of using public toilets.

Plans to turn children's centres into "family hubs" and cut voluntary sector grants have also been scaled back.

In total, about £500,000 of cuts have been taken out of the budget.

But the council will be generating almost £2.5m from increasing council tax by the maximum 4.99% permitted, two percentage points of which will be set aside for adult social care.

The new budget will now go to full council to be approved.

The council's executive member for corporate services Ash Cartman, said: "It has been a hard process to balance the budget.

"We continue to protect the services and I think we're all pleased - although we've had to compromise, given our financial pressures.

"As councillors, I know we have listened. Let's be honest, we have changed our mind on a few things in response to the feedback we were making."