A MAJOR shake-up of North Ayrshire Council’s senior management following outgoing chief executive Elma Murray’s exit will save the authority an estimated £250,000.

But the council has yet to disclose how this money will be saved or if the restructuring will result in redundancies.

Councillor John Sweeney revealed the estimated figure while speaking about the proposed changes during a meeting of Saltcoats Community Council this week.

The councillor for Stevenston was asked about the appointment of new chief executive, Craig Hatton, and the proposed assistant chief executives.

Councillor Sweeney said: “They’re going with a new structure. Instead of directors there’s going to be two assistant chief executives appointed.

“What’s going to happen is that when they change the structure from a chief executive and six directors into the chief executive and two assistant executives, [it is] a quarter of a million you’re saving.”

He added that the heads of service would report to the assistant chief executives instead of corporate directors.

When asked by a member of the community council if the new chief executive would be “getting paid as much as the ex-chief executive”, Councillor Sweeney replied “they’re still getting the same money.”

It was then discussed at the community council that up to three directors could be lost due to the restructuring.

One member of the public said: “They’ve lost people. What about the responsibilities and roles they’ll lose?”

North Ayrshire Council would not confirm whether any senior posts would be deleted.

A North Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: “At a staffing and recruitment committee meeting on Friday, 24 August, elected members agreed to the new structure which will see a new chief executive supported by two assistant chief executive officers.

“The new structure will realise savings of approximately £250,000. “The full detail of the structure will be determined in due course.”