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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Sarah Ward & Maxine McArthur & Lynn Love

Parking charges to hit £6 an hour in Glasgow if new plans get go ahead

Stringent budget cuts could see parking in Glasgow increase to nearly £6 per hour in a bid to save £68million.

SNP-run Glasgow City Council is also considering bin collections just once a month and charging for entry into the glasshouses at the Botanics while CCTV could be cut by 12 hours so it only runs from 4pm until 4am.

Tollcross Children's Farm, which is home to a family of alpacas and is free to enter in one of the city's poorest regions, could close along with the sale of the Clydesdale horses based at Pollok Park.

School crossing patrols could also be axed at spots near traffic signals, and popular events funded by the council including Winterfest and Drumchapel Bonfire could be scrapped.

Councillors will meet next week to make their decision in setting the budget for 2023/24 in, what leader Susan Aitken has described, as the "most challenging circumstances for public finances in decades".

Some suggestions bring Glasgow in line with other councils including increasing funeral charges and parking, which could mirror Edinburgh prices, which range from 90p to £5.60 per hour.

Suggestions put forward by the Neighbourhood, Regeneration and Sustainability (NRS) departments included closing the Queens Glasshouse and rehome the animal, removing kerbside glass collections and blue bins from public sites.

Kerbside collections could be brought in, while housing associations could be charged for using recycling centres,

Allotment costs could be updated along with charges for street cafes, while 141 jobs could be lost.

Chris Mitchell, GMB convenor, said while the bins proposal would bring savings, it will only increase problems faced by cleansing staff.

He said: "The idea behind it is that there will be more recycling so the bins don't need to be collected as often, but there's not enough education around recycling for that.

"If this goes through, taking bins away and reducing collections, there will be no way back. It's a recipe for disaster."

A spokesperson for the council said: "As part of the annual budget-setting process, a cross-party group of councillors works with officers to scrutinise and develop options on where savings and investment could be considered.

"Officers also regularly update a financial forecast, taking into account inflation and the latest information on national settlements.

"The financial challenge facing the council this year is exceptionally tough - with savings of around £68m required, even before pressure on social work and care services are taken into account.

"Political groups will present their budget proposals next week and it is for them to decide whether they wish to include any of these options."

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