TOP jobs at the town hall are set to be axed as part of a major restructure which could save the local authority three quarters of a million pounds per year.

A total of 11 director and chief officer posts would be scrapped in favour of six new positions which would also oversee the local health commissioner if the plans go ahead.

The proposed shake-up would create a single five-department structure across the council and Bury NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

A formal 90-day consultation period with staff and trades unions, which was given the go ahead at a private cabinet meeting last week, will begin today.

Council leader David Jones said that a final decision will be made early next year.

He said: “Despite ten years of austerity which have stripped £100m from council budgets, we are still – with Bury NHS CCG – having to find another £24m of cuts this financial year.

“We need to look at all possible steps to make those savings, and these proposals – if implemented – will make a valuable contribution towards reaching our target by reducing the number of senior management posts.

"These proposals, however, are also about streamlining services in order to produce the best results for local taxpayers. With the council and the CCG working ever more closely together, we need to realign our services to meet the demands of the future, especially regarding health and social care."

The move would save around £760,000 a year in senior management costs with an aim of realigning town hall teams to support the local authority’s "strategic objectives".

The five new departments would be Operations, Business Growth and Infrastructure, Corporate Core Services, One Commissioning Organisation and Children and Young People.

A total of 11 posts, including two executive directors and three assistant directors, would be deleted on the grounds of redundancy.

The council has already deleted a number of posts to save money, and these proposals will delete more, to further reduce layers of management.