THE organisation that runs the New Forest National Park is facing a 21 per cent cut in its annual grant over the next four years.

The amount of money the Government gives the National Park Authority (NPA) will drop from the current £4m a year to £3.1m in 2014/2015.

NPA bosses said it was too early to tell if the resulting cuts would include any redundancies among the 70 staff.

But Julian Johnson, who took over from Clive Chatters as chairman of the authority earlier this year, warned of tough choices ahead.

“Now we know what our settlement is we can plan the best way of dealing with the cuts from April, 2011. We have for a while now been looking at ways we can do things better or differently, including how we can generate income,” said Mr Johnson.

“One area where we have already made significant savings is our forthcoming move to Lymington Town Hall.

“All work has been planned in a cost-effective way. There will be savings for the taxpayer through shared services and both organisations will look to deliver more on-going savings.”

Mr Johnson said the NPA would continue to protect the Forest while also sustaining the social and economic wellbeing of the area. He added: “There will be some tough choices to make and there will be things we will have to stop doing. We are talking to partners and stakeholders to determine our future priorities.

“We intend to ensure that the authority can continue working closely with our partners and communities to deliver the best for the forest.”

Mr Johnson spoke out after the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) revealed the NPA’s grant allocation for the next four years.

“The spending review announcement falls within what we have been expecting,” he said.