Wiltshire Council puts forward plans for £33m in cuts

Plans to save up to £33m by closing council offices, cutting posts and increasing homecare for the elderly are set to be decided by Wiltshire Council.

The Tory-run council has proposed to reduce the number of buildings it uses from 95 to four main hubs and cut 55 posts in a bid to save £630,000 a year.

It is also looking to save up to £4.8m by investing in 'Help to Live at Home' schemes for older people.

The council said front line services would be unaffected by the cuts.

Wiltshire Council has about £330m to spend on services for the next financial year.

More than £18m has been earmarked for maintaining and improving roads, an increase of £400,000 on last year.

And £35m is to be invested, over the next three years, in leisure services including plans for campuses in Corsham, Salisbury and Melksham.

The authority has also announced it will be offering free swimming for under 16s in the school holidays.

But the council is proposing to cut youth service budgets by £915,000, which it insists will have "no reduction in front line delivery".

'Focus on waste'

It is planning to close Browfort offices in Devizes, the Bradley Road offices in Trowbridge and Urchfont Manor, Urchfont later in the year.

Council leader Jane Scott said the authority would be "focusing on removing waste and inefficiencies".

"We're looking at everything we buy and making sure we're getting the best value out of those," she said.

"But I think we'll probably have about 100 less posts this time next year, if all the reviews go through, but the number of posts that go are often far more then the number of actual people who go."

The full council meeting is due on 28 February.