Proposals to close Heathfield library and day centres across the borough are not set in stone, according to the borough’s head of finance.

Richmond Council announced this week there will be nearly £9m worth of cuts for the 2011/12 financial year, with about £12.4m planned over the next three years.

Plans include cutting £100,000 from the day centre budget, that would lead to the closing of Twickenham day centre and Tangley Hall day centre, in Hampton, and reducing the libraries budget by £351,000, some of which will be found by closing Heathfield library.

The moves have been criticised by Richmond Liberal Democrats but Councillor Geoffrey Samuel, Richmond Council deputy leader, said the authority must work in a leaner and more efficient way.

But Coun Samuel added: “If someone says ‘don’t cut that, cut this,’ I will listen.”

Other areas facing cuts are children’s protective and preventative services, described as staff restructuring and secondary school support teams.

The authority also plans to cut £700,000 from budgets that keep fees down for elderly support services, meaning older residents who can afford it will pay more.

Councillor Stephen Knight, leader of Richmond Liberal Democrats, said: “These are extremely wide ranging cuts, there are vast amounts coming out of care services but there is little detail.

“The council already has the money for Heathfield libray. The people of Heathfield will not understand why they are losing their library.

“Some of the most vulnerable residents will bear the brunt of these cuts.”

Coun Samuel said all cuts would be based on four principles - fairness, increasing the value for money, openness and recognising the role of the state is shrinking.

He said the plans were designed to get the council through the next financial year but the Government’s spending review, due on October 20, could see local Government funding reduced by 25 to 40 per cent and the authority had to act.

He added: “We are proposing change in such services as libraries and transport for children with special educational needs because we believe we can provide the service in a different way that is better value for money.

“We also propose to follow the Government’s lead and cut spending on education department activities that do not contribute to core education.

“Our overriding aim is to provide high quality services, using our resources as efficiently as possible, so that we focus expenditure on the services that are of direct benefit to our residents.

“We will, for example, keep lifesaving meals-on-wheels, but slash lifestyle advice on the rates.” He added there was a risk grants for expansion of primary schools may not come through so prudence was needed to ensure those commitments were met. However, he promised there would be no cuts in rubbish collections or street cleaning.

He called on the opposition to provide genuine alternatives rather than criticism and said all reserves had been earmarked for projects.

More details and consultation on key proposals will be released later in the year before the budget is agreed next spring .