Insider Media Limited

Nottingham councillors are to consider cutting 370 jobs next year at the authority tomorrow in a further blow to the city's economy. The option would save the city council £11m as it aims to plug a £60m hole in its finances. The authority said it had received 5,000 responses following a public consultation on the cuts.

Other proposals to be decided upon include reducing highways maintenance, increasing charges or reducing public access at heritage sites, and reducing support for jobseekers.

The loss of 370 public sector jobs would be expected over the next year if agreed by councillors.

New proposals changing some terms and conditions for staff have been put forward for consultation which could reduce the number of compulsory redundancies.

Funding for capital projects such as roads, schools and housing has also been drastically reduced or lost altogether, the council said.

Councillor Graham Chapman, the deputy leader of Nottingham City Council, said: "We have been among the most successful councils in protecting jobs and frontline services but because of the scale of these cuts, there will inevitably be some significant impacts. We are approaching government about the damage another settlement like this next year would inflict on services and the economy.

"We're also concerned about the impact of capital funding reductions on the local economy. That's why we have continued with the next phase of the tram despite all the obstacles and why we are fighting the government's school building cuts."

The council's budget proposals will be discussed at the executive board tomorrow and ratified at its full council meeting on 7 March.

Last month, the council confirmed that its Meadows PFI scheme would also lose its £200m investment following the demand for cutbacks.