BRADFORD Council is expected to make £40m worth of cuts in the next three years – with household waste sites, an outdoor activity centre and 113 jobs likely to face the chop.

Council Tax will rise by nearly five per cent, and fees in Council run facilities such as car parks are also expected to rise.

And the cuts may still not be enough to prevent the Council from effectively declaring bankruptcy – bosses are still in dialogue with Government for “exceptional financial support” that would allow the Authority to balance a budget that is expected to overspend by around £72m this year.

The Council today announced its latest plans to deal with a financial crisis that could see the Authority issue a 114 notice – effectively saying it is not able to balance its books.

The first wave of cuts will go out to public consultation next week, and Bradford Council Leader has warned that there could be further waves of cuts in the coming months.

The cuts will lead to the closures of household waste centres in Ford Hill (Queensbury), Sugden End (Cross Roads), and Golden Butts (Ilkley).

Ingleborough Hall, a Council run children’s outdoor activity centre in North Yorkshire, is likely to be sold.

Leisure centres and libraries will be reviewed, with £60,000 of cuts expected in 2024-25 rising to £1.25m by 2025-26.

This review will look at whether a planned Leisure Centre in Squire Lane – which has been allocated £20m of Government funding, “should go ahead.”

Council Leader Susan Hinchcliffe said there will be no cuts to Children’s Services, despite the fact that the Bradford Children’s Trust is predicting an overspend of £49m in the current year.

She said: “None of this gives me any pleasure. No Councillor comes into Government to make cuts, and we’ve had so many cuts over the years – over £350m. This is the next stage of Government austerity.

“Over the next four to five years what we’re looking at is becoming a much smaller Council – employing fewer people and providing fewer services.

“That’s what the Government have decided by deciding not to adequately fund Councils or Children’s Services.”

In recent months the huge financial problems facing the Council have become clearer.

Last month Bradford Council announced that efforts to balance the budget would not be enough by themselves, and without “exceptional” Government support, the authority will have to issue a Section 114 notice – meaning the Council is essentially bankrupt.

Councils legally have to balance their budgets at the end of each financial year, and a report into finances in December said Bradford Council is unlikely to achieve this.

The budget gap for the current financial year was £73m and the predicted gap for next year will be £103m.

Cllr HInchcliffe added: "The demand for, and cost of, providing residential placements and home to school transport is unsustainable for many councils on top of the effects of inflation and reductions in central government funding since 2011.   "I am asking government to fix the dysfunctional children's social care market and fund local services effectively so that we can continue building a future that enables everyone in the Bradford district to make the best of opportunities available to them here.”