Oxford May morning: Council wants to axe security costs

A council has proposed to stop paying for security at Oxford's May morning celebrations as part of wider cuts of £9.5m to its budget.

Oxford City Council said it would cut security costs of about £40,000 "as it is not equitable to expect the council alone to bear the cost of this event".

The authority would "seek funding from partners", it said.

Other "efficiencies" planned include permanently stopping cash payments to the council to save £30,000 a year.

Residents would also need to pay the council to dispose of bulky waste items, a service which is currently free.

The authority also said it could save £525,000 per year if it allows administrative staff, who occupied two floors of its St Aldates building before the pandemic, to work from home on a more regular basis.

Councillor Ed Turner, deputy leader, said the local authority had been "particularly exposed" by the pandemic due to it seeking to increase its income in recent years from its own firms, such as its housing company, to avoid making cuts to services.

The councillor told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that "most people will not notice the change" to services "because we have worked really hard not to make cuts in frontline services".

The annual centuries-old May morning celebrations see thousands of people gather outside Magdalen College to hear the bells ring out and choristers sing from the Great Tower early on 1 May.

The college said organisers had not yet held its "preliminary planning meeting" for 2021 with the council, but said the meetings were "strategic and operational rather than financial in any case".

The council's cabinet will discuss the budget proposals and £9.5m cuts, which are to be spread over five years, at a meeting on Wednesday.