THE possibility of council spending restrictions are a ticking time bomb, a council finance director has warned.

Louise Mattinson, Blackburn with Darwen Council’s director of finance, said there had been an increase in the number of senior officers at councils across the UK expecting to impose a section 114 notice in the near future.

A section 114 notice imposes emergency spending controls and bans all new expenditure with the exception of statutory services for protecting vulnerable people.

She told a meeting of the council's audit and governance committee that a survey of senior officers from councils around the UK found about half of them expect to issue a section 114 notice within the next four years.

"So far, cases of interest are Surrey, Lancashire, Torbay and Birmingham – that’s on top of Northamptonshire," Ms Mattinson said.

And Ms Mattinson said the uncertainty over the future of local government funding was making the matter worse.

She said Blackburn with Darwen relies on the government’s new homes bonus, which could end, though not as heavily as district councils.

In August, it was reported Lancashire County Council's rainy-day fund which once stood at more than £300m is now forecast to run out in just two years.

“So far the focus has been on county councils and unitary authorities are next but if the new homes bonus goes, you will see a lot more districts running aground," Ms Mattinson added.

"Next year is the last of the four-year settlement.

“Unless something fundamental happens, we know the situation is very difficult.

“We have been cutting and restructuring as much as we can to live within our means but there comes a point where we won’t be able to do it anymore.

Cllr Ron Whittle said: "We can't have a medium term financial strategy that goes beyond a year or so because we don't know what's going to happen with funding."

Earlier this year, the council's resources chief, Cllr Andy Kay, said the future of funding for local authorities across the country was uncertain and Blackburn with Darwen was no different than anywhere else.

But in contrast to council finances, house-building in Blackburn is booming according to the borough's growth boss.

Blackburn with Darwen Council’s growth director, Simon Jones, said more developers than ever before were being attracted to the borough with lower houses prices helping.

He said: “In terms of risk around house building, I think confidence around the borough is as good as it has ever been.

“We have got developers wanting to build and it is attractive for people to relocate because you get a lot more for your value.

“That is attracting builders who never would have come to Blackburn three or four years ago.

“House builders will only come where they can sell.

“If there is a downturn, we will see it and we will hear about it on the news because it will be a national problem, not localised to Blackburn."