FEARS have been raised over ‘sky high’ bills amid the cost of living crisis as councillors call for action – while the Town Hall could close over winter.

A Labour motion, proposed by Cllr Janet Henshaw and seconded by Cllr Siobhan Carr, was put forward at the full council meeting at the Parr Hall on Tuesday.

It stated: “What was a cost of living crisis has now become an emergency.

“Energy price caps have soared over recent over recent months as has the price of food and other essentials and mortgage interest rates have risen so far that many people face repossession or sky high bills.

“Government inaction has pushed many households in the town below the poverty line.

“Businesses are anxious about their future and families are facing a very real prospect of illness through cold and food deprivation.

“People with disabilities and older people are disproportionately affected and face a very difficult winter.”

The motion, which was passed, will see the council ask the leader to contact the relevant minister and both of the town’s MPs to set out concerns and ask them to push for an ‘immediate reduction’ in the cap to the cost of energy, provide sustainable funding to local authorities to tackle the poverty ‘created by the cap on energy’ in towns and cities across the UK, introduce a windfall tax on the excess profits ‘being reaped by the energy companies from this emergency’, take action to reverse the rate of interest, and increase benefits at least in line with inflation.

An amendment to the motion was put forward by the Conservatives, proposed by Cllr Nigel Balding and seconded by Cllr Ghazala Chapman, committing the council itself to look for ways to strengthen its support for residents throughout the 2022-23 winter period.

The amendment called for a review of contingency plans to maintain essential council services in the event of power cuts, a check to see whether the council is providing the best advice to residents about energy saving measures, and a suggestion to consider closing the ‘old and draughty’ Town Hall for the winter months this year, moving staff to ‘more energy-efficient’ council offices.

Cllr Balding said “Our beautiful and historic Town Hall is probably one of the most energy wasteful buildings in Warrington, powered by a diesel generator and heated by an old gas boiler pumping hot water through Victorian plumbing.”

However, despite the amendment being backed by councillors at the meeting, the Conservatives voted against or abstained on the full motion – which included their amendment.

The motion, including the amendment, was passed by councillors.