MORE than 26,000 people have had their say over a controversial plan to cut at least £90 million from spending at County Hall – with bosses saying the public’s views are more important than ever.

A series of roadshows by Worcestershire County Council during the autumn led to a deluge of fresh comments, which staff are spending the next few weeks pouring through.

Under BOLD, which stands for Better Outcomes Lean Delivery, the authority wants to slash spending by unprecedented amounts by 2016.

The project includes 857 job losses, about half of which have gone already, and moves to hand over services to voluntary groups or community organisations such as street maintenance, libraries and youth facilities.

During a debate over the scheme’s merits, Luke Willets, BOLD programme manager, said they were willing to change tack in areas where cuts prove unpopular.

“We have always been open to feedback and I’m glad to say we’ve had a lot of that,”

he said.

“We welcome people’s views and have to be willing to change in order for this to be a success.

“There’s been an emphasis on consultation, and with 26,000 responses we are getting fairly consistent messages on what matters.

“The latest step in the consultation was November’s roadshows and we’ll be analysing all that to take it forward to the next budget setting process. We recognise the financial challenges are getting greater.”

The council has insisted areas such as potholes and social care for children need to be protected from the brunt of the cuts, which matches the feedback so far.

The stance has already led to a budget being created for the recruitment of 25 new social workers to protect vulnerable adults and children.

But many areas of BOLD have sparked controversy, including a scheme where parish councils and residents are being encouraged to take over responsibility for services which until now taxpayers’ cash have provided.

Councillor John Cairns, speaking during the debate, said: “People have tended to see BOLD as a way of the council cutting expenditure, full stop.

“They think it’ll only end up in a worsening delivery of services, so it hasn’t been easy getting the message out that it isn’t just about that.”