STROUD District Council's spending proposals for the next two years have been unveiled after the authority was told it faces the largest percentage cut in its government grant of all councils in England.

The pre-Christmas announcement by communities secretary Eric Pickles stated that SDC will lose 28.6 per cent of its revenue from Whitehall by 2012/13.

Its annual grant cuts - from £6.5 million this year to £5.4 million in 2011/12 and £4.7 million the year after - are the country's joint largest reduction alongside county neighbours Cotswold District Council.

Savings of £2.7 million have been earmarked over the coming four years following months of planning and a festive period of frantic number crunching at Ebley Mill, the results of which were presented to members at the council’s cabinet meeting on Thursday, January 6.

These include an £86,500 reduction in the regeneration budget, a £28,500 saving from changes to the gardening assistance scheme and the closure of part-time sports centres totalling £42,100.

Leaders stated they will do their best to avoid any redundancies, whilst £232,900 will be clawed back as part of the council's four-year workforce plan to shed 10 per cent of its 450 jobs.

"We certainly have some serious challenges ahead of us but we are intent on doing what we can to minimise the impact of any spending reductions on our residents," said SDC leader Frances Roden.

"Unfortunately the provisional funding settlement announced in December for the next two years indicates we will be significantly worse off than anticipated, so we will be revisiting our position, and in due course will need to reduce spending further."

Chief executive David Hagg called the cuts the 'quickest and most severe' he had experienced in 30 years in local government, while cabinet member for finance Nigel Cooper warned that 'nothing was sacred' in the continuing drive to reduce costs.

Members revealed they had already expressed their frustrations to Stroud MP Neil Carmichael, who has written to Eric Pickles and is arranging a meeting with him to discuss why the council was penalised so harshly.

Despite this, a package of services focused on the most vulnerable in the district is being retained and council tax has been frozen at a Band D rate of £186.93.

Among the proposals is the continuation of Warm and Well grants to help low-income families insulate their homes, and the pumping of £10,000 into a new community transport scheme to support volunteers who provide transport for vulnerable people.

The current cash desk at Ebley Mill is to be replaced with an automatic payment kiosk at a cost of £44,000, which will pay for itself within four years in lieu of reduced staffing costs.

In the longer term, several renewable energy projects have been proposed to enable the council to produce its own power, including installing solar panels on sheltered housing schemes and generating hydro power from the weir at Ebley Mill.

Mr Hagg also revealed he has received interest from organisations about the possibility of renting vacant office space at Ebley Mill in the future.

Cllr Roden added: "Council buildings use an enormous amount of power, and energy costs are only going to go up, so if the business plans add up, these initiatives will save us huge amounts of money and better still generate income.

"I believe a focus on innovative, long-term thinking and efficiency will hold us in good stead for the years ahead."

All the cabinet’s budget proposals will now go before full council on Thursday, February 10.