THE leader of Worcestershire County Council has admitted his new five-year plan might have to be "revised" if Brexit delivers a shock to the economy.

Councillor Simon Geraghty took part in a two-hour Q&A today about his dossier outlining County Hall's strategy from 2017-2022.

During a serious grilling from councillors he insisted he was "optimistic" about the future, but said the Brexit fallout could result in some elements being changed.

As the Worcester News revealed last week the blueprint, called 'Shaping Worcestershire's Future', details key targets in areas like job creation, new infrastructure, housing, health and the environment.

During today's debate Councillor Kit Taylor, a Conservative, cited concerns about how Brexit would damage the strategy.

He said: "I speak as a small businessman who's just seen 30 per cent wiped off the bottom of my currency.

"There's talk in this plan about job creation, fantastic, the economy, fantastic, infrastructure, fantastic - but there is a 'what if' here that isn't being talked about.

"What if everything stops dead in six months? There is no 'what if' in this plan."

Councillor Geraghty said the strategy was about setting out "a vision" for Worcestershire with ambition behind it.

He also reiterated the recent exercise to write to 1,200 county businesses to seek their post-referendum views, saying the results are due back in December.

"We have set out a vision based on the 'known knowns'," he added.

"When it comes to Brexit there's been an initial reaction, which we saw in the markets and also in business sentiment, but I think the economy's been remarkably resilient, the leading economists all share that view now.

"And I think it's the Government's number one priority, how do we deliver Brexit while protecting the economy."

He told councillors he was optimistic but said "plan B, if there was an economic shock", would be to revise the plan.

"If there was a major shock we'd have to reflect that, but this document is where we are at now, it sets out a vision for where we'd like Worcestershire to be in five years time," he said.

During the debate Labour Councillor Richard Udall, who chairs the overview, scutiny and performance board, bemoaned the document not pushing for the completion of Worcester's northern relief ring road while Tory Councillor Liz Eyre urged it to make some mention of farming and horticultire.

The Liberal Democrats focused on young people and education, questioning Councillor Geraghty hard on Key Stage 2 results.

The blueprint, which is still in draft form, is being discussed by the Conservative cabinet tomorrow before it goes to a vote at full council in November.