WITH Bradford Council needing to cut £82 million from its budget by 2020, it’s clear that tough decisions need to be made if those savings are to be achieved.

However, it’s not surprising to see there has been so much reaction from the public to specific aspects of the proposed budget, not least the closure of public toilets, which are often seen as a basic right for people who are out and about in town centres.

Meanwhile, the cut to funding for community halls has proved to be another bone of contention and there’s no question that such buildings can be invaluable meeting places for the community.

The opposition to such proposals is understandable. What seems to be lacking in the consultation responses are alternative suggestions for saving the money.

Indeed, those who oppose the cuts, rightly or wrongly, need to be able to come up with constructive ways for making the kind of savings that are needed if the Council is to continue providing essential services in the years to come.

If, in light of the consultation responses, the Council has to go back to the drawing board, then it’s going to require a good deal of creativity and imagination to find the same level of savings. Or is it just that we have to accept that, nowadays, the Council cannot to everything it used to do?

In these changing times, maybe some of these facilities will have to be transferred to community ownership, or perhaps into the hands of parish councils, so they can continue to be run for the benefit of residents if that’s what we, as a community, require.