“THE savings from back office have been taken. Things we’re going to have to do (in future) will be more visible to the public.”

That was the stark warning from Terry Collins as he started work as chief executive of Durham County Council.

The 55-year-old, who succeeded George Garlick on Monday (February 1), takes the reins at the North-East’s largest local authority at a time when it has already cut £153m from its budget and shed 2,000 jobs.

Care homes have been closed; leisure centres, community centres and a golf course transferred to voluntary groups; school transport funding slashed; library hours reduced; and in April the Durham Light Infantry Museum will close.

But another £100m-plus must still be saved and another 350 jobs must go. By 2020, the cuts will have topped £300m.

“We’ve gone way past what anybody thought was possible. We are at the point where there are few easy options left,” Mr Collins says.

Critics will inevitably say management always escapes the austerity knife. Mr Collins denies this, saying nearly two-thirds of savings have been from “non-front line” services, the number of corporate directors has fallen from 53 in 2008 to six today, the number of managers on £40,000-plus has been cut by a third and there have been three times the number of managerial as frontline posts axed.

The chief executive salary has also been cut. Mr Collins will receive £185,000, down from the £200,000 paid to Mr Garlick.

“We do need capacity to do what we do,” the new boss says.

“We’re one of the biggest councils in the country. We do need people to lead our teams. We’re very lean.

“We will continue to review what we do. We have made massive strides. There comes a point where if we (cut further) what we want to do for services would just stop.

“Essential and sensitive areas would become even more high risk. It’s not sensible to do that and I don’t think the people of County Durham would want us to do that.”

Mr Collins was promoted from within, having previously been Durham’s corporate director of neighbourhood services.

He said it was an amazing privilege to work at a fantastic authority and be chosen for one of the top jobs in local government and thanked staff, councillors and his predecessor.

Mr Collins said his aim was to “provide the best possible services for the people of County Durham and an authority which is modern, confident, financially sound and consistently delivers”. He said he would focus on the public and community’s needs and the council’s top priority of the economy and jobs and, despite austerity cuts, morale among council staff was very high.

In 37 years in local government, the Teesside-educated official has also worked at Darlington and York councils.

Oliver Sherratt, previously Durham's head of direct services, has been appointed acting corporate director of neighbourhood services on an interim basis.