OPPOSITION leaders in Dudley have slammed plans for £20million worth of brutal cuts over the next three years which threaten to close the town’s museum and impact on services across the borough.

Council chiefs have outlined plans to save £8million in 2016/17 – rising to £20million by 2018/19 – which will include axing 133 full time jobs within the Labour-run authority this year and up to 275 posts by 2018/19.

They say the loss of £65million in government funding since 2010 has prompted them to draw up the vast array of cost-saving measures which range from closing Dudley Museum and Art Gallery, cutting opening hours at Wordsley's Red House Glass Cone and Dudley Council Plus, removing the grant from the borough’s Centre for Equality and Diversity, dimming and turning off street lights and reducing the street cleansing, winter gritting service, pothole and resurfacing budgets.

Councillor Patrick Harley, Dudley's Conservative leader, however, has criticised the budget - saying it is littered with “small savings designed to cause maximum impact on the electorate”.

He said: “From reducing the opening hours at Dudley Council Plus, removing dog and litter bins, rationalising the number of gritting vehicles and a reduction in street cleansing operations all amount to a miserly saving of £135,000.

“These small savings, some of them no more than £20k at a time, will cause problems for hard-pressed council taxpayers and not make the delivery of services any more efficient or guarantee their long-term stability."

Councillor Paul Brothwood, UKIP Group leader, added: “It’s a ludicrous budget.

“It is aimed at hurting frontline services rather than at the top of the organisation. Before cuts are launched at key services including the closure of Dudley Museum it would be far more effective to cut the number of fat cats and interims. They should start with the chief executive."

Councillor David Sparks, the council’s former leader and now cabinet member for finance, however, said even with the outlined cuts - the council still needs to identify a further £50million of savings.

He said: "We've identified £20m to be saved but we know there's a 70million gap between income and expenditure. If we do not do anything the gap between what we earn in income and what we spend by 2020 will be £70million. One thing we're not going to do in this borough is go bankrupt. We're going to stay in control of our finances."

The budget proposals will go before the council’s cabinet next Wednesday (October 28).

Click here to have your say on whether you think Dudley Museum and Art Gallery should be closed to help save cash.