Council in the red

Allister Craddock
Politics Show East Midlands

Who should pay for a huge hole in a council's budget? The East Midlands Politics Show investigates why one of our district councils may have to cut a quarter of its staff to stop it going into the red.

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Amber Valley District Council, in rural Derbyshire, likes to pride itself on its financial prudence.

But this week it was revealed that the council is facing a massive £2.5m shortfall.

Taxes up or jobs down?

The Conservative group, which runs the council, says the 14% hole is "likely" to lead to "a number of redundancies".

Unison fears that up to 25% of the council's staff may be laid off.

It insists that the council should increase council tax rather than cut jobs.

It says that redundancies would inevitably lead to a reduced service giving the district the second lowest rate in Derbyshire.

Amber Valley Council in the red

Just six months ago, the council's leader, Stuart Bradford, told the Politics Show that the Conservative administration had "managed to save significant amounts of money in terms of council tax", giving the district one of the lowest rates in the area.

But the Labour opposition says it has been warning the council about its spending for years.

For its part, the Conservative group argues that it is the Labour Government which has squeezed funding for Amber Valley well below inflation.

So what should the council do - cut jobs or put up rates?

Council Leader, Stuart Bradford, and Ravi Subramanian, from Unison, will be in the studio on Sunday to argue it out.

Also on the Politics Show...

Icelandic chill

We also look at the latest fall-out from the Icelandic investments crisis.

Local authorities across the East Midlands put about £78 million into the failed Icelandic banks.

The biggest potential loser by far is Nottingham City Council. It sunk £42 million into the three banks involved.

So where do they all go from here? Do councils like Nottingham have to take a share of the blame?

And can they emerge from all this without services suffering?

The Deputy Leader of Nottingham City Council, Graham Chapman, joins Marie in the studio

and... Eco victory

Some of them have been camping there for nine years, now they are finally taking their tents down.

Nine Ladies Stone Circle: battle won?

Robin Powell talks to the eco-protesters who are claiming victory in the battle to save a Bronze Age Peak District site from the threat of quarrying.

The Peak National Park Authority has achieved an agreement to save the site near the Nine Ladies Stone Circle.

No wonder the eco campaigners are celebrating.

Happy times at the eco-camp

However, it is not all good news. In return for the owners of the quarry, Stancliffe Stone, giving up their planning permission to re-open the quarry, the authority is allowing the company to expand its workings at Dale View, further away from the most sensitive sites.

That will mean an extra 950,000 tons of gritstone will be extracted from the area with all the extra lorry traffic that is bound to involve.

It is a story the Politics Show has been monitoring for some time.

Local Conservative MP, Patrick McLoughlin, has long been concerned about the time it takes to resolve the legal wrangles over planning permissions.

And Lord Hattersely has called for a new National Parks Act to safeguard the Peak District.

He believes an overhaul of planning permissions for quarries dating back to the 1940s is long overdue.

So is there any prospect of the government agreeing a new strategy any time soon?

Join Marie Ashby for the Politics Show in the East Midlands this Sunday at 12:00 BST on BBC One.

Ring us with your views on 0500 900 900 or email on the form below.

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