Swindon council tax rise of almost 5% given the go ahead

Swindon Borough Council has voted through a range of budget cuts

Residents will soon be paying almost 5% more in council tax, as leaders say the year will be "make or break" to avoid going bust.

Large spending cuts by Swindon Borough Council are expected to hit libraries, community transport and dozens of jobs.

The new Labour administration says it wants to transform struggling and expensive children's services.

But opposition Conservatives said Labour had achieved "next to nothing", and pushed for a lower tax rise.

The 4.99% council tax increase in April equates to around £80 per year for a typical Band-D property, mirroring what most similar councils have asked for across England.

If no action was taken, Swindon Council would have faced a £35m gap between the spending required and cash available for services, with the administration warning of bankruptcy within a year without major changes.

Labour's finance councillor Kevin Small told the council on Thursday: "It is a budget that allows us to protect the most vulnerable members of society, but it is also a budget that has large chunks of service provision taken out."

Council leaders said the local authority needed to make "unprecedented" spending cuts

Along with cuts to libraries and community transport, thousands of streetlights will also be dimmed overnight to save on energy bills.

The council also plans to use some of its reserve savings to prop up day-to-day spending.

Labour leader of the council Jim Robbins said his party blamed central government for underfunding local services.

"We face a cliff edge as an organisation," he said.

Opposition Conservatives proposed a slightly smaller tax rise, suggesting Swindon Borough Council should look to generate income elsewhere, such as by converting one of its empty office blocks into rental flats.

The 4.99% council tax increase equates to around £80 per year for a typical Band-D property

Tory leader on the council, Gary Sumner, said "innovation and smart ideas" would allow the council to "generate more income" by using property it owns in more commercial ways.

"We have rejected the notion that maximum council tax increase should be the baseline assumption," said Conservative finance spokesperson Matty Courtliff.

Mr Small, Labour's finance spokesperson, called the Tory call for a smaller tax rise a "cheap election ploy".

Follow BBC West on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [e-mail]