Bristol mayor sets out cuts to cover £35m 'growing budget hole'

The newly elected independent mayor of Bristol has announced proposals to shed more than 300 local authority jobs and raise council tax as he looks to make budget cuts of £35m.

George Ferguson, who swept into office in November on a wave of optimism, revealed on Monday that a new swimming pool and recycling centre would also be scrapped under his budget proposals.

Other plans that are bound to prompt fierce debate include the cutting of funding for 32 police community support officers and the introduction of parking charges at two popular Bristol beauty spots.

Ferguson, a successful architect known for sporting bright red trousers, said he hoped that most of the job losses could be achieved through reorganisation but admitted there could be around 100 compulsory redundancies. He said that increasing council tax by just under 2% was about protecting the most vulnerable citizens.

Announcing his draft budget, the mayor said that when he ran for office he believed he would be facing £28m of cuts for 2013/14. That "growing hole" now stood at £35m – about 9% of the council spending. This follows the £56m savings the council has already found over the past two years.

He said: "This has been handed down to us by government and there is no escape – we have to make cuts."

Ferguson said the proposals, which will need to be ratified by the full council, included a reduction of around £4.5m in management and back office costs.

The mayor said he was keen to protect the "most vulnerable people in the city", adding: "I want to make sure we protect the poorest people from having to pay council tax, for example."

He continued: "I do expect that the load will be spread amongst those who can pay. I am therefore proposing that we make a very small increase in our council tax – just under 2%." Ferguson said this was below the rate of inflation and so was effectively a freeze.

Other money-saving proposals outlined include introducing car parking charges at the Blaise Castle and Oldbury Court estates, two very popular open spaces. A recycling centre in Hartcliffe, in the south of the city, and a swimming pool in Speedwell in the east would also be axed.

Ferguson, who brought in a panel of unpaid finance and business experts to "reality-check" the proposals, said time had been limited since the election to set the budget but promised a "fundamental look" next year at how savings could be made without the loss of vital services.

He said: "I ask you to bear with me as I do my very best to make sure that Bristol prospers in the future. The important thing is that we bring jobs to the city, that we make the transport work, that we make the city much more connected than it is. Let's regard this challenge as an opportunity to come together as one city."