Shirehall leader Keith Barrow today gave a stark warning that Shropshire Council is getting to the point where some impact on public services is “unavoidable” because of planned spending cuts.

He said he didn’t want to pretend to householders in the county “that everything will simply carry on as normal”.

Councillor Barrow was speaking ahead of Wednesday’s cabinet meeting which will be updated on the council’s proposed savings and the effect of the Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review which has cut deeply into local government funding.

Initial estimates show the Conservative-run council now needs to save £66 million over the next four years from 2011/12 – finding £16 million more than originally planned.

This adds up to unprecedented cuts in council funding of £76 million from the start of the current financial year in which the council has already saved £10 million.

A report reveals the council still has to identify how it will find more than £7.7 million of next year’s target.

It says detail is still emerging on the implications of the spending review and the impact on Shropshire will not be “fully understood” until the council’s draft grant settlement is published at the end of the month or in early December.

The approach in the current first round of savings includes working more closely with local voluntary and community organisations, cutting back on administrative and management costs, merging staff teams and closer working with other councils.

Councillor Barrow said: “When this process started, I promised that I would be open and honest with the people of Shropshire, and I don’t want to pretend that everything will simply carry on as normal.

“Councils all over the country will change the way they deliver services and, although we are better placed than some, we will have some incredibly difficult choices to make.”

• A Shropshire charity which provides a lifeline to people in financial crisis today warned it may have to cut services as it prepares to lose more than £100,000 in funding. Citizens Advice Shropshire has been told it will face a 20 per cent budget cut over the next three years from Shropshire Council.

By Dave Morris