Councillors have approved plans that will see more than a million pounds slashed from the district budget.

Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council’s (TMBC) cabinet members endorsed the cutbacks as they laid out plans to save £1.4m.

In a report presented to the members, council bosses set out a draft transformation strategy that would address the significant financial challenges faced by the council in the coming years.

Members discussed ways to make the savings which come on top of the £2.8 million that has already been cut over the past five years.

In information presented to the cabinet, Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council said: “It is important to recognise that there is no simple solution to address the challenges the council faces.

“It would be misleading to say the council will be able to maintain high standards of service across all it does.

“That said, this is the case for the majority of public service bodies in the current economic climate and, therefore we are not in a unique position."

At a meeting held in on Tuesday evening, the cabinet recommended the savings should be delivered in three tranches, carried out between now and 2019, with savings balanced out across the three years.

Savings to the value of £200,000 would be delivered by the end of 2017, a further £700,000 would be slashed from the budget by the end of 2018 and £500,000 saved by the end of 2019.

Speaking at the meeting, council leader Nicolas Heslop (Con) said: “Three years ago I predicted local authority funding would disappear. By 2018, there will be no grants from central government, we will have to rely on money generated by business rates.

“It’s important that this strategy is endorsed not just by members, but council employees too. We need to work out how we can become more efficient as a council while still providing a good service to the people who put us here.”

Despite not identifying specific areas where savings would be made, organisational structural change and cutting back on in-service efficiencies will be a key focus.

The plans were recommended for adoption and a breakdown of the savings will be presented in early 2016.