A new report has revealed that Lichfield District Council hopes to slash its budget by £200,000 by handing over land to other organisations.
A community asset transfer has already been approved to allow Burntwood Phoenix and Burntwood Dragons football clubs to take over the running of Hospital Roads playing fields.
A meeting of the leisure, parks and waste management overview and scrutiny committee on Thursday (June 25) will see a new report from Cllr Andrew Smith, Cabinet member for Leisure, outlining how savings are being made as part of the Fit for the Future programme – with more land transfer on the cards.
Around £200,000 of savings have already been identified, but a further £150,000 needs to be found as part of a second phase.
Cllr Smith’s report said: “The review confirmed the council’s desire to reduce the size of its estate by transferring sites to other public or voluntary organisations who could make use of it, bringing sites forward for development, or persuading developers of new estates to find alternative ways of ensuring maintenance of open space without relying on the council to adopt these areas.
“Cabinet has also approved the transfer of land to other organisations including Burntwood, Whittington and Walsall councils, to the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust and to the Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust.”
The report also revealed how changes to the way maintenance was carried out and managed.
This has meant the removal of duplication of work as well as the use of other organisations.
The report explained: “We have utilised the enthusiasm and skills of voluntary and community organisations to help works to be completed.
“The council now regularly uses Cherry Orchard Gardening Service, Burton Conservation Volunteers, the Countryside and Parks Conservation Group, Friends of the Historic Parks and Community Payback to complement the resources of our own teams.”
