AROUND £20 million of fresh savings need to be made at Worcestershire County Council - with its new leader severely criticising the Government for handing it a "deeply concerning" deal.

Bosses at County Hall have reacted with dismay after new details emerged on the massive challenges facing the Conservative leadership.

Your Worcester News can reveal:

- The main Government funding pot for the new financial year starting this April is plunging by a record 33 per cent, down by £18 million for 2016/17

- Despite taking sudden action to successfully close that immediate gap, the expected savings requirement for the following year has now surged to £34 million, with £20 million of that yet to be identified

- Councillor Simon Geraghty, who become the new Tory leader only two weeks ago, has fired off a highly-critical letter to the Government saying he is "extremely disappointed", "very concerned" and even "surprised" by it

- The council also says the 2016/17 offer was dumped on them over Christmas with "little or no time" to plan, accusing the Government of expecting it to make unrealistic "significant and fundamental changes" at chaotic speed

The authority, which is battling with huge demographic pressures, was expecting its main Revenue Support Grant (RSG) to fall significantly for 2016/17 but just before Christmas it got news of an £18.1 million plunge, down by 33 per cent.

Taking into account other grants, finance bosses calculated that the council was therefore £11.4 million worse off - with the immediate 'black hole' rising to £13 million taking into account a previously identified gap.

Due to a range of factors, including better forecasts on council tax collection and the use of some reserves, that entire £13 million gap for next year has been closed without affecting any front line services.

But the leadership says the unexpected squeeze means they will now need to identify £20 million of fresh savings for 2017/18.

During a media briefing today Councillor Geraghty said he was determined to still be "ambitious" for Worcestershire, but admitted the task ahead is huge.

In February a vote will take place on a £322 million budget for 2016/17 which includes a council tax rise of nearly four per cent, adding around £42 to the average band D bill.

Councillor Geraghty also revealed how the Government expects councils to 'up' the household bill by 3.75 per cent for each of the following four years, something he has criticised as "unrealistic".

"We've had to react very quickly which has been very challenging for us - as a result of the Government settlement it's been very difficult," he said.

"We've got a period of time to work on 2017/18 but my message is, we are not going to reduce our ambition for this county.

"We've responded to the Government in the most robust way because it's been tough for us - we've sent them a clear message on that."

Clare Marchant, the chief executive, has also responded by saying the council must continue to "do things differently" given the scale of the challenge.

"This isn't new for us, Worcestershire has been relatively low-funded for a number of years," she said.

During the briefing Councillor Geraghty said he accepted the Government’s general direction of travel, saying he accepts the drive to tackle the national deficit, grow the economy in a more sustainable way and that councils should become more self-sufficient.

But he argued that the immediate settlement changes, which are a prelude to the main RSG grants being scrapped altogether by 2019 in return for allowing councils to retain all their business rates, is creating unfairness here and now – with the shires taking the brunt of it across the country.

SO WHAT DOES THE LETTER SAY?

A FRANK nine-page letter has been sent from County Hall to the Government outlining its dismay over the situation.

In it, Councillor Geraghty says the authority is "very concerned" by the sudden speed at which late changes were made to the 2016/17 settlement without any time to plan.

It points to a "significant change in funding for county councils with little notice", saying shire authorities have been treated unfairly and far worse than big cities and metropolitan areas.

It also suggests the Government is overseeing a chaotic system, saying: "We are at an advanced stage of planning for the 2016/17 financial year and it's impossible to make planned and consulted upon reductions of this scale in this period of time."

It calls the expectations that local authorities have the will to carry on raising council tax by nearly four per cent every year "flawed", accusing the Government of making "dramatic changes" to the Revenue Support Grant and "locking in" any freedom to make its own local decisions.

The letter accuses ministers of paying "little attention to need", especially given the ageing demographics in Worcestershire and huge social care pressures.

It says the changes will have a "dramatic impact" on councils, asking ministers to "reverse the Government's detrimental approach to shire areas and Worcestershire", saying the current system "unfairly penalises" the county.

The funding offer for 2016/17 is still provisional but is expected to be confirmed within days.

The letter, co-signed by the chief financial officer Sean Pearce, also reminds the Government that County Hall bosses have saved in excess of £100 million since 2010/11, with a yearly requirement to save around £25 million ongoing.

Among the key recommendations to Whitehall is to consider extra, “transitional support” to the council in 2016/17 and 2017/18 as it moves towards the big funding changes ahead, and that the improved Better Care Fund should be bought forward 12 months to 2017/18.

The county council is considering whether or not to accept a four-year funding offer from the Government.

• See the letter yourself HERE.

BUDGET PLANS INCLUDE £2.2M REVAMP OF SIX KEY TOWN AND CITY CENTRES

AN EXCITING £2.2 million overhaul of shopping centres across Worcestershire can today be revealed in a county-wide facelift.

Worcestershire County Council has revealed fresh plans to sink the cash into sprucing up six different areas, including:

- £500,000 into resurfacing Worcester city centre, focusing on Broad Street and The Shambles

- £500,000 to tackle poor drainage in Droitwich and finally relay the town's High Street

- Another £500,000 for Kidderminster, focusing on new paving and resurfacing in Worcester Street so it can compete better with Weavers Wharf shopping centre

- The exact same sum for Redditch, so it can work with the district council on a new 'town centre improvement plan'

- £100,000 for each of Malvern and Evesham to kick-start separate studies looking at traffic in both towns and what areas need new investment the most

The plans were announced by Councillor Simon Geraghty, the new leader, during today’s briefing on the fresh changes to the 2016/17 budget proposals.

In Worcester, the expectation is that the city council will match-fund the money by providing £500,000 of its own to create a £1 million fund.

Broad Street and The Shambles have long been seen as poor relations to the High Street, which has had money lavished on it in recent years.

The spending in Droitwich is also the culmination of a long campaign by civic leaders in the town over the relatively poor condition of its High Street, with its bumpy surface.

And the sums for Malvern and Evesham will help fund detailed research, traffic assessments and design work with engineers to help decide how the town centres can secure their own facelifts.

Councillor Geraghty said despite the severe funding pressures he was determined to make a mark with his first budget, which is being voted on next month.

"One of the things I've been keen to do is look at how our town and city centres can be improved, these are key social spaces for leisure and business," he said.

"It's not just about the big towns, but the smaller ones too.

"People in Droitwich have wanted to see improvements there and if you look at Kidderminster, the town has been challenged by Weavers Wharf.

"In Worcester, one of the streets we want to improve is The Shambles, and finish off Broad Street."

Councillor Anthony Blagg, the deputy leader and cabinet member for the environment, said: "It's a great investment."

Community leaders have reacted with delight at the news, calling with the Mayor of Droitwich calling it "wonderful".

Councillor Graham Beale said: "Droitwich has been on the list for a number of years but not got near the top.

"This is wonderful, the High Street has got gradually worse over the years and this money will go very far."

Worcester shopper Ken Picton, 51, of Battenhall Rise, said today: "It's fantastic, the city centre is quite nice already but this will make it better."