All Shropshire Council employees received an email on Friday morning informing them of plans to effectively close its head office to all personnel, except essential personnel, within seven days.

As well as closing Shirehall, the council’s Conservative administration has also confirmed plans to close two sites in Bridgnorth and one in Oswestry.

Today, Councilor Rosemary Dartnall, leader of the authority’s Labor group, said the “panicked” nature of the decision reflects growing concerns about the authority’s finances.

These measures are all part of cost-cutting measures as the council seeks to avoid a financial crisis and the equivalent of bankruptcy for local government – a ‘Notice 114’.

Shropshire Council’s financial difficulties are well known, but they have become increasingly pressing in recent weeks.

The authority has set a target of cutting its budget by £62 million this year.

But recent reports from the council indicate the budget could be £37million higher by the end of the financial year.

The authority was already planning to move from Shirehall to Guildhall in Frankwell. In September he agreed to start leaving from November, but the latest acceleration of those plans has raised concerns.

Leaving the building has two potential financial benefits: it allows the authority to cut costs, but also opens up the possibility of selling the site to developers, bringing in millions of pounds of additional funding.

But this latest decision has drawn criticism from opposition councilors.

Councilor Dartnall said: “Shropshire Council staff received an email as they started work on Friday telling them that from next Friday, November 1, Shirehall would be closing and they would be required to work from home.

“That’s less than a week’s notice. Changing everyone’s working conditions in such a panicked way must leave everyone in shock and wondering what comes next.

“At the September council meeting a draft removal strategy was proposed to make savings by moving staff from Shirehall to the vacant Guildhall.

“The plan was rushed, with little clarity, moving staff around over several months but leaving Shirehall partly occupied. Now we have this sudden announcement – ​​it is clear that the financial crisis in Shirehall is worsening.

“Council staff must already feel entirely undermined by the financial crisis and how it affects the future of the council and their own livelihoods. People in Shropshire will be worried about the essential services provided by the council and on which they matter.

“Council staff have the right to be treated with consideration at all times, but the continued flow of bad news caused by this financial crisis has undermined their work.

“Council staff must be able to expect that their working conditions will be respected and that they will be properly informed about a crisis that they did not cause.”

In Friday’s message to staff explaining the decision, council leader Lezley Picton said: “Shropshire Council is taking urgent action to reduce its spending. This is the key to becoming the modern, efficient and financially viable council it needs to be.

“There are a small number of statutory functions that we need to maintain at Shirehall, such as registrar services, until they can move to Guildhall, and arrangements will be made for others who cannot work at Some tenants who use Shirehall will also stay, but will vacate the space we currently use will allow us to move them to other areas and close many parts of the building.

“The Guildhall has now been vacated by UCS and the first teams will begin moving there from November, allowing the decommissioning of Shirehall to begin.

“These urgent measures reflect the need to act now to reduce our annual expenditure and these measures alone will save over £100,000 this winter through reduced heating, lighting and cleaning costs.”