Council Leader to debate cuts at Ludlow meeting on 25 February

The Leader of Shropshire Council, Malcolm Pate, will be visiting Ludlow later this month to discuss the future of public services in the town and county.

The Ludlow and Clee Local Joint Committee (LJC) will meet on Thursday 25 February at 7pm in the Elim Hall, Smithfield, Ludlow. Prior to the meeting, Malcolm Pate will visit the new Buttercross Museum, the Foyer and Ludlow Youth Centre.

Shropshire Council is facing deep cuts to its budget over the next few years. Some services will close or be reduced. Other services will be transferred to the control of local councils and communities.

Malcolm Pate is particularly keen to hear from people in Ludlow about how their community might help keep services going or how services might be delivered in different ways.

He said:-

“I am pleased to be invited to Ludlow to discuss the coming cuts and how we deal with them. It is a very difficult time in local government. We face cutbacks to services we treasure. Some services might not continue without council funding. That’s why I am keen to have a conversation across Shropshire on how we deal with unprecedented cuts to local government funding.”

Andy Boddington, chairman of the LJC, said:-

“I am very pleased that Malcolm is coming to Ludlow to look at what we are achieving here. We are a really busy town with a strong community spirit. As a town, we have to become less reliant on Shropshire Council and more reliant on ourselves. This debate will be a good opportunity to explore how that will work.”