Hampshire County Council saves tips but deep cuts made elsewhere

Plans were to close 12 tips across the county, including Casbrook in Romsey, Alresford in Prospect Road, and Bishop’s Waltham in Claylands Road.

However, on Monday, October 14, Hampshire County Council’s cabinet decided to instead save the tips, with cuts to be made elsewhere to try and fill a £170m shortfall.

These cuts include the removal of almost £600,000 of revenue funding for passenger transport including buses, the termination of six contracts and three grant agreements concerning homelessness support services, and the reduction of £250,000 to spend on library stock.

The cabinet meeting (Image: Chris Atkinson)

Meanwhile, the decision to cut school crossing patrols was deferred for detailed site assessments.

As previously reported, Hampshire County Council is looking to cut 17 lollipop crossings at schools across the county, including on Parkhouse Road, Shipton Bellinger.

The council spends approximately £1.1m a year to provide the service, with an average cost of around £6,000 for each patrol.

Karen Glasspool has manned the crossing for decades. (Image: Charles Elliman) School crossing patrols have been saved from the axe for the moment, with the decision being deferred until further site assessments can be completed.

While discussing the proposals, the cabinet noted that, while patrols are a nice thing for the local communities, there are several patrol positions across the county that have not been filled for several years, with “hard crossings” such as zebra or pelican crossings being considered in their place.

Other cuts decided by HCC cabinet included the cutting of £250,000 per year for library stock, the reduction of £7.5m from the highways maintenance budget, the reduction of £1m from highways winter services and the cutting of several competitive one-off grants and the reduction of £600,000 to the annual grant given to Hampshire Cultural Trust.