Shropshire Council tells minister we need extra £20m to stave off drastic cuts

Shropshire Council's leader Councillor Malcolm Pate and chief executive Clive Wright were part of a delegation that visited Westminster this week to press for changes to the way funding is split between rural and urban areas.

The pair used the meeting to make three requests to Marcus Jones MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Minister for Local Government – including asking the Government to lift the cap that prevents council tax from being increased above two per cent without a referendum being held.

They said the steps were vital if services were to be maintained and come as they warned the future of Shrewsbury's Quarry pool and museum and art gallery was uncertain.

Councillor Pate said: "We made it very clear to the minister within 30 seconds of the meeting what the impact will be – they are in areas the public will be able to notice. The situation is that dire."

Shropshire Council has already agreed a 3.99 per cent council tax rise for the forthcoming year, and is planning the same for the following two years.

Councillor Pate said he had also sent a letter to Prime Minister David Cameron which had been signed by the leaders of 12 other rural authorities, including Yorkshire, Oxfordshire and Cornwall.

The council has also requested that Government bring forward the Better Care Fund, planned for 2018/19, which would be worth about £8 million, and the Rural Delivery Support Grant, which would be worth about £1.5 million this year but is scheduled to rise to £5 million.

Mr Wright said even if all three of their requests were agreed, they would still want the Government's local authority funding formula changed. He said: "They need to think about a fairer distribution system."

Councillor Pate reiterated his belief that years of council tax freezes had hurt the council and said its annual income is about £15 million lower as a result.

He said bridging the gap would require a council tax rise of about 10 per cent – something the council would not consider.

To increase council tax by more than two per cent currently requires a referendum – estimated to cost around £500,000.

A Government announcement on its plans for local government funding is expected before February 10.

The Frankwell Quay venue, which features a 650-seat main auditorium and a 250-seat studio theatre, has hosted a number of top performers, including Greg Davies, Sarah Millican and Carol Decker.

Shropshire Council says that despite financial pressure leading it to consider the closure of a number of museums and leisure centres, Theatre Severn will not close.

The authority has been consulting on a number of options for a replacement pool – including on the existing site and at Shrewsbury Sports Village in Sundorne.

Despite the council's cabinet agreeing to reduce leisure budgets to zero in 2017/18, the authority's leader says that the review process will continue.

Shropshire Council shocked many last month with its announcement that the museum would face "likely closure" if it cannot secure more funding before 2017/18.

Currently the museum costs about £300,000 a year to run, but the council is planning to cut the entire museums and tourism budget next year.

Shrewsbury's MP Daniel Kawczynski has said the closure would be unthinkable and branded the museum the "jewel in the town's crown".