Hampshire County Council: Which services will be cut in effort to save £16M?

Cabinet members in Hampshire have decided on the future of 13 local services in a bid to balance the council's budget.

The authority is looking to save £16 million and discussions about the proposed cuts took around 5 hours on Monday.

The council leader has described this Autumn as a pivotal point for its finances.

It faces an annual budget shortfall, which is now projected to have increased to at least £175 million.

What service cuts have been agreed?

Highways maintenance:

• The annual highway maintenance budget for planned maintenance activity will be reduced by £7.5 million from April 2025.

Roads:

• The annual budget for Highways Winter Services will be reduced by £1 million.

• Around 70% of the county's road network will not be treated.

• Car parking charges will be introduced at rural countryside sites that are wholly owned by the council.

• On residential streets where streetlights are already switched off between 1am and 4am, this period will be extended by two hours per night, so that lights are switched off from midnight until 05:00.

Passenger transport:

• Supported local bus services and taxi-share services will be scrapped in order to save £570,000.

Library stock:

• The council will reduce stock spending by £250,000 per year. The authority will prioritise children’s books and paperbacks but not hardbacks.

One-off grant schemes:

• Reduce annual grant to Hampshire Cultural Trust by £600,000 from April 2027.

• Venues at risk in the longer term could be Andover Museum and Museum of the Iron Age, and Curtis Museum in Alton.

What services will not be cut?

• Household Waste and Recycling Centres:

Among the services given a last-minute reprieve from cuts includes household recycling centres, crossing patrols and homeless support.

The network of tips in Hampshire is the largest in England, with 24 sites, costing more than £10 million per year to operate.

Last year, those living in the county made 2.1 million bookings to deposit almost 120,000 tonnes of household waste.

The council will no longer cut its £1.6 million budget provision for waste and resource management, as initially proposed.

It means 12 sites that were earmarked for closure, including Petersfield, Hedge End and Bishops Waltham, are safe for now.

• Homelessness Support Services:

The council currently spends £2.2m per year on support for the homeless.

The authority will now continue to provide its services until 31 March 2026, instead of the originally proposed date of 30th April 2025.

• School Crossing Patrols:

It costs the council around £1.1m a year to provide the School Crossing Patrol services across the county.

The authority wants to review its entire network and consider whether pelican or zebra crossings can be put in place, whilst a further 156 sites are to be reviewed.

The council has decided not to scrap the current crossings it has at 17 sites.

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