Despair and anger over council spending cuts

A shop owner said he would resort to sleeping on-site if Birmingham City Council cuts street lighting as part of sweeping budget cuts.

Residents have responded angrily to the authority signing off higher taxes and reduced services on Tuesday.

A £300m raft of cuts includes dimming street lights to save £900,000, reducing spending on highway maintenance by £12m and moving to fortnightly refuse collections to save £4m a year.

Gary Bevis, who owns Bostin Vapes on Northfield High Street, said: “I’m going to have to sleep in the shop to look after it.”

The Labour-run council declared itself effectively bankrupt in September last year after identifying equal pay liabilities estimated at £760m.

It also blamed the implementation of a new IT and finance system and rising demand for services for its dire financial situation.

It must save £300m to secure £1.255 billion in exceptional financial support (EFS) loans from central government.

During Tuesday's five-hour meeting, councillors approved a 9.99% council tax rise for this year and next, taking annual bills for a Band D property to £1,793 from April.

Leader John Cotton apologised "unreservedly" to people living in the city during a full meeting on Tuesday.

• Birmingham City Council signs off 'devastating' cuts

Mr Bevis, who started his business after family members died of lung cancer, told BBC Radio WM he had secured it "like Fort Knox" after a spate of break-ins in the area.

“Bars on the doors. I’ve got a gate on the back, I’ve got electric shutters, I’ve got cameras everywhere," he said.

"My phone constantly bleeps all night so I’m checking the security cameras to find out what’s going on."

He said a single security guard for the High Street funded by the local Business Improvement District was insufficient, and added rising insurance and electricity costs made him feel like "jacking it all in."

"I’m here all day for nothing. Every time the shop earns money I have to pay out more," he added.

Other Birmingham residents described their anger and despair over the council's savings plan.

Dee Kelly, who appeared in 2014 TV show Benefits Street, said: "The vulnerable people of Birmingham are now going to be affected and hit really, really hard.”

She works with lottery-funded Birmingham Says No, which last week opened a community hub and warm space in Handsworth.

"We had over 150 people... turn up for a hot drink, some toast, some crumpets, for someone to speak to and a little food parcel," she said.

"Knowing how the demand for this has been after three sessions... it’s only going to grow," she added. "I despair."

Jane Roach from Spitfire Services, which offers a food and warm bank and financial advice in Castle Vale, predicted taking on more staff to meet demand.

“We see working people as well. They’re already struggling and have been for a long time and it’s only going to get worse," she said.

Entrepreneur Laurence Barton, who is festival director of Birmingham Pride, demanded further answers.

"It seems like a chronic injustice to know all of the residents and the businesses in the city that will suffer as a result of that lack of competence,” he said.

"I feel absolutely beside myself with anger... This is going to affect so many people in what seems to be a never-ending nightmare for Birmingham.”

Noble, a health and safety officer in his forties, said the tax hike and cuts had pushed him to start searching for an alternative home to Winson Green.

"[Birmingham has] become a very depressing, an impoverished place," he said. "I am seriously considering leaving the place I call home and moving somewhere else."

"I’m still proud to be a Brummie but as it stands, what is here for me apart from old-school memories about how it used to be?"

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