Herefordshire Council ‘faces £27m black hole’ over funding cuts

He said the council would need to prioritise infrastructure, roads and opportunities for investment and skills to help attract growth, as well as prioritising services for the most vulnerable.

Rising demand for adult social care, special educational needs provision and temporary accommodation, led to an “unsustainable gap” between incomings and outgoings, he added.

The county had already faced losing its £7m rural services delivery grant, which was cut last year.

Herefordshire Council said the current funding formula did not take into account the extra costs of delivering services across a sparsely populated, rural county.

The local authority said it received a below-average amount of council tax per household, despite having increased rates by the maximum level in consecutive years.

The government, however, said it wanted to “fix the outdated way local authorities are funded to make it fairer and fit for the future, so local leaders can deliver the vital public services their communities rely on.”

A consultation on the plans closed on the 15 August, external, with final proposals due to be published later in the year.