MORE than 400 council jobs are to go and one of the regions biggest theatres could close among multi-million pound public sector savings.

Senior management posts, a quarter of library services, anti-social behaviour work, bus subsidies and bowling greens will be among the losses in Darlington.

As part of the savings, Darlington Borough Council is to withdraw its subsidy from the town's Civic Theatre and the Arts Centre. The authority acknowledged this could lead to the closure of both facilities.

Darlington Borough Council is the first local authority in the region to announce details of its spending cuts as a result of the fallout from the coalition Government's Comprehensive Spending Review.

The total savings, which were announced to council staff and members yesterday, amount to £13.8m per year.

Council leader John Williams called it a bad day for Darlington but added: "Public services in Darlington and across the country are facing significant challenges as funding from Government is cut."

For the full story, see The Northern Echo tomorrow.