HAVING an overall majority will give mean there is better control over Oxford City Council’s budget, according to Labour leader Bob Price.

The council leader saw his group take overall control of the council in this month’s elections for the first time since 2004.

The Labour group gained two seats on May 6 to take its total from 23 to 25.

The remainder of the council’s 48 seats are held by 17 Liberal Democrats, five Greens and one member of the Independent Working Class Association.

Mr Price said he expects the council’s grant from the Government to be slashed in the coming year as part of plans to reduce the country’s spiralling debt.

Labour and the Lib Dems negotiated a budget for this financial year but Mr Price said such talks would no longer be necessary because of Labour’s majority.

Mr Price said the council would now make plan ways to make savings in preparation for cuts in Government funding.

But he added he was confident the council could cope with less money, although he did not have any detailed figures.

He added: “We’re pushing ahead with our efficiency savings as part of our three-year budget.

He said increasing the city’s waste recycling rate to 50 per cent, building a new swimming pool, slashing the authority’s office accommodation bill, and cleaning up Cowley Road and East Oxford were at the top of his to-do list.

The city’s expanded recycling scheme will be launched next month, four months ahead of schedule, allowing residents to recycle a greater range of items, he said.

It will include a weekly food waste collection which has been piloted in parts of the city. The council also plans to cut costs by moving all its staff into the Town Hall and St Aldate’s Chambers within 18 months. The move is expected to reduce the office space it needs by half and save £500,000 per year.

Mr Price said he was confident work would start on a new swimming pool this autumn, with a decision due to be made next month on whether to demolish Temple Cowley pool and provide a modern swimming complex on the site or to build the new pool in Blackbird Leys.

The council will also extend the Oxford Mail-backed Cleaner, Greener Oxford programme, to Cowley Road and East Oxford this summer.

Mr Price added that he hoped a revised application for the delayed redevelopment of the Westgate Shopping Centre would be on the table within the next 12 months.