Cornwall Council approves £196m savings plan Published duration 25 November 2014

image caption The council had been told government spending squeezes were continuing

Cornwall Council has approved a four-year budget strategy aimed at cutting spending by nearly £200m.

The full 123-seat council approved the strategy on Tuesday. Its cabinet said it was to save £196m between 2015-2019.

The cabinet previously said the council had to make cuts as government spending squeezes were continuing and demand for services was growing.

The Liberal Democrat-Independent coalition unitary authority has an annual budget of more than £1.1bn.

The proposals included less money for frontline services, hundreds of job cuts and a council tax rise of just under 2%.

Many proposed amendments were put forward during the debate.

Calls by a trio of Liberal Democrat, Independent and Green members for a 6% rise in council tax to try and negate the impact of savings plans were rejected.

Conservative leader Fiona Ferguson said that proposal "lacked realism".