Council shares proposals to save millions of pounds

Ted Peskett Local Democracy Reporter

A Welsh council is consulting on fewer litter bins, less street cleaning and more parking enforcement camera cars in a bid to save millions of pounds over the coming years.

That is according to a Vale of Glamorgan Council document which shows some of the things the local authority is looking at to make considerable savings.

The council has already launched a consultation on its 2025/26 budget proposals, which include things like increasing council tax by 6.9% and handing over management of leisure facilities to sports and community groups.

The council currently faces a budget gap of £8m. Its consultation on the 2025/26 budget closes on Friday, February 14.

There was more detail on some of the other things that are being looked at to save money in a Vale Council cabinet report published ahead of a meeting held on January 16.

In the report, a document titled ‘Savings Appendix’ shows that an increase in garden waste subscription charges and a “reduction of service standards across resorts” is also being looked at.

Vale Council’s cabinet recently agreed in principle to the introduction of new parking charges for Barry Island and Penarth seafront.

Cabinet members said the money generated from the parking charges will go towards maintaining Vale of Glamorgan’s resorts.

Many residents and businesses have shared their discontent over the proposals, with two petitions in opposition to them having been set up so far.
Here is a look at some of the stand out changes Vale of Glamorgan Council is considering.

Street cleaning and waste disposal

Vale of Glamorgan Council is looking at reducing the number of litter bins in the county by a further 25%.

In November 2024, Vale of Glamorgan Council confirmed that it had commenced a review of litter bins in a bid to increase recycling levels and combat fly-tipping.

Through the review, the local authority identified the areas where there is the greatest need for bins, pinpointed areas where separated recycling bins could increase recycling and highlighted bins that are being misused or attracting fly-tipping.

This further reduction of litter bins, from another 25% in 2024, could bring in savings of £200,000 in 2025/26.

The council is also proposing a reduction in waste management resources, with a document on savings stating that this will involve vehicles and staffing.

In the document, it also shows that a “reduction of service standards across resorts” is being looked at, which could bring savings worth £50,000 for 2025/26.

When asked for further clarification on this point, Vale of Glamorgan Council said that if this proposal is carried forward it would likely result in some impact on cleaning an maintenance schedules.

The council is proposing to increase the subscription charge for garden waste collections.

However, a recent Vale of Glamorgan Council announcement states that residents can sign up for an early bird offer which allows residents to pay the same price charged in 2024.

There are two subscription options for the service – £36 for up to eight bags of garden waste per fortnight and £54 for more than eight bags per fortnight.

Car parking

There have already been numerous calls from angry residents and business owners for Vale of Glamorgan Council to scrap its most recent parking plans.

At a cabinet meeting on January 9, in principle plans to introduce parking charges to some car parks in the county and to on-street locations in Barry Island and Penarth were approved.

On-street car parking charges at Barry Island will affect Paget Road, Breaksea Drive, Friars Road, and Station Approach Road.

Parking charges at Penarth seafront will affect The Esplanade, Cliff Hill, Cliff Parade, and sections of Beach Road and Bridgeman Road.

The car parks that will be affected include:

⦁ The Knap Car Park (Barry) – 164 spaces
⦁ Bron Y Mor (Barry) – 67 spaces
⦁ Penarth Cliff Walk – 177 spaces
⦁ Portabello (Ogmore-by-Sea) – 25 spaces
⦁ West Farm (Southerndown) – 22 spaces

The charge for up to two hours would be £2.50 under the current proposal and £4 for up to three hours. For each hourly increase up to five hours, the charge would go up by £2.

To park all day would cost £10.

Another parking proposal that was agreed to in principle was to close the Court Road Car Park in Barry town centre, which the council said costs it £80,000 a year to operate.

Vale of Glamorgan Council said the car parking changes could help the local authority generate an income of more the £500,000 in 2025/26 “and beyond”.

In the document showing council savings proposals and potential changes to services, it states that a new camera car and “increased enforcement opportunities” will be looked at to help the council save £225,000 in 2025/26.

Vale of Glamorgan Council started using a camera car to patrol streets from September 2020.

Transport

In the council’s ‘Savings Appendix’ document, there is not a lot of detail on what proposals are being looked at in relation to transport.

All it says is that there will be an adult transport review and a children’s transport review, out of which savings worth £15,000 and £65,000 respectively could be realised for 2025/26.

When asked for more detail on what it meant by an adult transport review, Vale of Glamorgan Council said that this will be a review of the contractual arrangements with its transport provider.

A council spokesperson said: “Current routes weren’t fully occupied, so we have been able to harmonise journeys.

“We have also been working with colleagues in transport and are now able to use an electric vehicle within the service.”

Vale of Glamorgan Council’s primary transport service for adults in the county who have difficulty accessing public transport is Greenlinks.

For its 2024/25 budget, Vale of Glamorgan Council put forward proposals to increase the cost of using the service.

Under the approved budget, the cost of a zone one Greenlinks return fare went up by 20p to £3.50; a zone two fare went up by 60p to £5; and a zone three fare went up by 50p to £6.

The cost of a Greenlinks membership fee went up by 50p to £6.

One councillor criticised the transport service last year after saying a number of people were being left in doubt as to whether or not they’d be picked up.

Conservatives councillor for Llandow, Cllr Christine Cave, said at a council scrutiny committee meeting in December 2024 that something had gone “drastically astray with this service”.

Greenlinks has been called into question over a number of issues in the past, including service users being sent larger than expected bills due to an invoicing backlog.

Scrutiny committee members were reassured in December that there is now a dedicated officer for the service and that work has been done to rectify payment issues.

Membership to the service has increased, with 181 new users having signed up since March 2023.

Care

Vale of Glamorgan Council announced in November 2024 that it was looking at changing the way it charges for its telecare service.

Telecare provides older people with an alarm system that alerts carers in times of need, like if they have suffered a fall, and is intended to allow them to live more independently.

The council’s document on savings proposals shared with cabinet members earlier this month shows that a telecare “expansion and fee review” could bring in £20,000 for the local authority in 2025/26.

A council report on planned changes to the service published last year proposed all telecare customers to be charged a flat rate for the service, with those who have it included as part of their care and support plan having to pay for the service separately.

For some it would mean having to pay an additional £8.32 a week. One council official said at a scrutiny committee meeting in November 2024, where the report was discussed, that the charge would be means tested.