Proposal to dim street lights in Bury to cut council costs

It will explore whether charges can be introduced at sites in Prestwich, Radcliffe, Whitefield, Tottington and Ramsbottom without affecting the ‘liveness’ of each town.

Councilors have yet to agree on any of the proposals, which are due to be presented to Labor leadership at a meeting next week when they begin setting the 2025-26 budget.

Other proposed measures include cutting some senior government positions through attrition and early retirement, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

It is understood that the review of neighborhood parking will aim to charge only where it is “commercially feasible”.

The move is expected to generate around £126,000 in revenue and dimming the street lights will save around £209,000 a year in energy costs.

The budget saving measures come as Bury Town Hall finance chiefs warned that difficult decisions will need to be made as they begin the process of setting the 2025/26 budget.

The council has already identified a huge budget deficit of £35 million over the three years to 2028.

The authority said the potential savings were £9.4 million and adding other measures would reduce the remaining deficit to around £22 million.