ALEXANDRIA CC RESPONSE LETTER FOLLOWING WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE BUDGET 2025/26
ALEXANDRIA CC RESPONSE LETTER FOLLOWING WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE BUDGET 2025/26 ANNOUNCEMENT ON 5TH MARCH 2025. CORRESPONDENCE SENT TO ALL WDC COUNCILLORS, BOTH WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE MSPS AND MP FOR WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE***
Dear Leader of the Council,
Alexandria Community Council met for the first time last night since the budget was announced on 5th March.
While we are pleased that the budget for community councils has been maintained at the current level, we must stress on behalf of the community of Alexandria our disappointment in the budgets that were not maintained including the Care of Garden scheme and a reduction of vast range of services which will impact the whole community including the vulnerable. Education, welfare and the physical environment all again being targeted.
As expressed before, Alexandria CC understand the financial pressure that West Dunbartonshire Council are under (as are other local authorities) but are concerned with these continuing budget saving measures (seen by the general public as “savage cuts to services”) and the normalising of such practices with predictions of further measures to come in future years. The rising of costs such as the Council Tax (11.5%) and the reduction and ceasing of services is dragging the community of Alexandria into the ground and making people lose hope for the future.
This cannot be sustainable or acceptable in the long term and with people’s lives at stake, there has to be resistance to future savings to any service moving forward.
The question the community are asking is “where does this end?”.
---Regards,
Harry McCormack
Secretary
Alexandria Community Council
(date of letter – Thursday 24th April 2025)
