The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
South Holland District Council is struggling to fill one key role within its new management team.
The post of planning and building control manager was created when the restructure began last year.
However, the council says recruitment to it is proving difficult due to a national shortage of people with the requisite qualifications.
Four officers – including head of economic development Mark Stanton and democratic services and legal manager Vicky Thomson – elected to take voluntary redundancy as part of the shake-up.
The council was aiming for a “leaner and more strategic executive management team” of eight, with responsibility for a range of services all connected via themes such as growth, income and prosperity.
South Holland has operated under a shared management arrangement with Breckland District Council in Norfolk since 2011. The recent restructure, overseen by the councils’ chief executive Anna Graves, is almost complete.
A spokesman said: “By sharing management services it has enabled us to deliver savings through organisational efficiencies.
“Through this ambitious organisational programme of change called Moving Forward, we will be working hard to secure a financially stable future.
“Through continued innovation we will change the way we operate and work with partners to meet the needs of our community including those most vulnerable, while delivering a minimum of ten per cent efficiency savings.
“We have one post (planning and building control manager at SHDC) which, due to a national shortage of suitably qualified staff, is proving difficult to fill. We are currently exploring different means of fulfilling that role.
“Four officers left the authority as part of the restructure. They were offered the opportunity to consider applying for internal positions but chose to pursue other options and accepted voluntary redundancy payments.”
