Wandsworth Council's new Conservative administration has announced the cancellation of free sport sessions, a youth bus, and plans for new council homes as part of a spending review aimed at addressing what it describes as a 'financial crisis.' The review, initiated after the Tories took office in May, targets savings to cope with central funding cuts and high borrowing levels inherited from the previous Labour administration.
Access for All scheme scrapped
Conservative councillor Peter Graham, Cabinet Member for Finance, told a council meeting on July 22 that the authority would end Labour's Access for All scheme, which provided discounts on sports, leisure, education, and other services to help with the cost of living. This included free gym and leisure centre memberships, free tickets to Tooting Bec Lido, and discounted sports pitch hiring. A new concessions scheme will be designed and presented in September.
Councillor Graham stated the council faces a 40 per cent cut to core government funding, amounting to £84 million a year by 2030. The authority has been granted power to raise council tax by more than 4.99 per cent from next year without a referendum due to local authority funding reforms.
Borough of Sanctuary programme cancelled
The council will cancel its Borough of Sanctuary programme and accreditation, agreed in 2022, and will outline a new refugee support policy in September described as 'generous and supportive.' Cost-of-living help will be overhauled under the government's new Crisis and Resilience Fund.
Funds previously ringfenced for Access for All, cost-of-living, and Borough of Sanctuary schemes will be returned to general reserves pending a review.
Council home plans axed
Plans to build new council homes on the Lennox estate in Roehampton and Ashburton estate in Putney have been scrapped due to resident opposition. Three smaller schemes—on Tyneham Close, Lavender Hill, and the Fitzhugh Estate—were cancelled as officers advised they were not viable. Cancelling these five schemes will avoid approximately £77 million in future borrowing costs and £5 million a year in debt.
The youth bus serving the Alton Estate in Roehampton will be axed, saving an estimated £90,000 a year, with equipment transferred to a youth centre.
Leader's office disbanded
The council will disband the leader's office of six full-time staff, set up by Labour, saving taxpayers more than £1 million a year. The Bradstow School site in Kent, which closed in December, will be sold to save on maintenance costs.
Councillor Graham said the authority would shift from 'waste to value for money' by focusing on residents' priorities, including improved pressure washing, graffiti removal, waste disposal, and enforcement in busy areas, along with funding 24 extra police officers for the borough.
Labour criticizes 'austerity approach'
Labour councillor Simon Hogg, who led the previous administration, accused the Conservatives of targeting the 'most vulnerable' and making 'plainly misleading' statements about the council's finances. He noted the authority had high reserves and no external debt.
Hogg said: 'Wandsworth Labour set balanced budgets and kept council tax low when we ran the council, and we had solid plans to do so again in line with our values. We would have covered the loss of government income through greater efficiency, more growth, smart partnerships and prudent use of reserves. The Conservatives are wrong to try to take this austerity approach, cutting frontline services, cancelling investment, firing staff and putting up council tax.'
He added: 'We have here in Wandsworth the resources to solve any challenge that the borough faces, so let’s find genuinely innovative ways to maintain both sound financial management and improved life for everyone in our borough.'
After the meeting, Councillor Graham said: 'The council faces a serious financial challenge that threatens its long-term sustainability. This spending review is about facing the facts, making hard but necessary choices, and ensuring limited resources are focused on the services that matter most to residents, clean streets, community safety, and core neighbourhood services, while protecting the council’s financial resilience for the future.'
Final decisions on the initial outcomes of the spending review will be made in due course, with full outcomes presented in September.
