Wrexham council seeks public views on service cuts

Library closures and three-weekly bin collections are among the ideas to be put to the people of Wrexham as the council looks to plug a £9m budget gap.

The authority also warned that council tax could rise by more than 6% as Welsh Government funding falls by 0.6%.

Council leader Mark Pritchard has called it a "wicked, disastrous settlement" which would put "unbearable pressure" on local services.

Consultation runs until 28 November, with a plan of action due in January.

Wrexham's ruling Independent/Conservative executive board also warned that some services may be stopped completely unless more money is forthcoming from ministers in Cardiff Bay.

Deputy leader Hugh Jones told a special meeting of the board on Tuesday that the situation was worse than had been expected, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A draft version of the public consultation document said Wrexham needed to find an additional £9m this year to balance the books.

"Based on all the indications Welsh Government had given us, we were looking for a period of relative stability to enable us to sensibly plan over a period of two years, rather than lurch from one year to another," Mr Jones said.

"What we've now found at this very late stage is Welsh Government have come out with a settlement which is significantly worse than they had previously indicated and as a result we are now having to make some changes."