WILTSHIRE Council wants people to turn out for meetings to have their say on how £25 million can be saved over the next four years as part of a new way Government will finance local authorities.

Meetings are to be held in Chippenham, Devizes, Trowbridge and Salisbury to explain the four year funding agreement between central and local government.

Dick Tonge, cabinet member for finance said: “We are currently discussing with Government the way our future financial settlements will be made, in particular the possibility of a four year funding agreement which will allow us to plan over a longer period.

"We will provide an update on these discussions at the forthcoming meetings and give everyone the opportunity to hear more about the challenges we face and have their say.”

But he warned that although the new way of working with Government would make it easier to plan ahead there would still be many difficult decisions to be made over spending.

He said: "It is all about trying to make ourselves more efficient by putting new technology to its best use. We have already started doing this with the way people pay for their green waste collection. We used to get loads of cheques coming in but now it is nearly all done on the internet."

He said that selling off of old buildings that cost a huge amount to run and replacing them with newer more efficient ones would also help to balance the books.

He said: "Planning will be easier but finding the money for services will remain a challenge especially with increases such as funding the new Living Wage."

Council leader Baroness Scott of Bybrook said: "These meetings are an opportunity to share with everyone the context in which we need to make the decisions we face as a local authority and discuss openly how we can move forward together."

The council spends around £900m each year on more than 350 services but must now find ways to save £25 million. Coun Tonge said

Baroness Scott of Bybrook, OBE, Leader of Wiltshire Council said: "These meetings are an opportunity to share with everyone the context in which we need to make the decisions we face as a local authority and discuss openly how we can move forward together."

Lib Dem leader Glenis Ansell said she was in favour of the four year funding agreement but said she thought Wiltshire Council could have avoided cutting services such as youth clubs if it had not frozen council tax for several years.

The first meeting will be on September 26 at Monkton Park, Chippenham followed by Devizes Corn Exchange on September 27, Salisbury City Hall on September 28 and the Atrium of County Hall, Trowbridge on September 29. All start at 5.30pm.