A SHAKE-UP of senior management will cost the council an extra half a million pounds a year – but leaders have defended the “transformational” changes.

A new chief officer will oversee the council’s transformation programme and another chief officer post, assistant director of public service reform, has been established with recruitment to begin as a “matter of urgency”.

An officer will be seconded to lead the implementation of the new “neighbourhood model” and the continuation of community hubs created during the coronavirus crisis.

The assistant director of education post will be upgraded to a director position and recruitment will start for an executive director of children and young people to replace Karen Dolton who is set to retire this autumn.

One of the two deputy chief finance officer posts has been reconfigured to director financial transformation and deputy chief finance officer posts and a new executive policy and research advisor post has also been established.

Conservative group leader Nick Jones criticised the council’s “transformation” over the last two years citing costs to the taxpayer.

He said: “Personally, I think it’s more change as opposed to transformation. There’s been no transformation in Bury Council.

“All that keeps happening is senior executives are coming in and as quickly as people are arriving, executives are leaving.

“We’re in quite a severe financial situation and you’re proposing to spend half a million pounds more on additional recruitment.

“It’s like the Titanic. The orchestra’s still playing, the ship’s sinking, yet we’re just continuing to recruit.”

But council leader Eamonn O’Brien hit back in a cabinet meeting, defending the council’s structural change which have created savings in its budget too.

He highlighted the creation of a strategic commissioning board which brings Bury NHS clinical commissioning group (CCG) closer together to the council.

The two organisations now share a joint chief executive, finance director and chief information officer.

Cllr O’Brien also told the opposition leader of a “significant” improvement in financial planning under “incredibly difficult circumstances”.

He said: “It may be that the pace and scale of transformation is not to your liking but to suggest that we have not transformed as an organisation I think is wrong.

“We’re not there yet but we’re clearly seeing a better and more resilient approach to those support services the council absolutely relies on.

“I think we’re actually in a much more resilient position for the challenges ahead with COVID. It will be incredibly difficult but we would be far worse off if those examples of transformation hadn’t taken place.”

Chief executive Geoff Little said there is still “a long way to go” until the council plays its “full role” in the long-term wellbeing of the people of Bury, but insisted that the town hall has seen transformation over the last 18 months.

He said: “18 months ago there was massive slippage on savings at the end of a three-year budget. We turned that round.

“The budget got delivered and in February, we set a balanced budget with, for the first time in many, many years, a real contribution back into reserves.

“18 months ago reserves were at a dangerously low position. This year, we increased them substantially.

“The financial challenges of COVID are enormous, but at least we have some reserves to go into that challenge with.”