Senior managers at Craven District Council will lose their jobs to cut costs.

In a bid to “streamline” the council and improve its image, the authority is to cut the number of senior managers from 16 to nine.

Those nine will include two new executive directors – on a maximum salary of £75,000 – and a new assistant chief executive – on a maximum salary of £53,000.

At Monday’s policy meeting at Skipton Town Hall, followed by a full council meeting, councillors were told the restructuring was essential to save money and ensure recovery after months of poor performance.

Chief executive Paul Shevlin said the recruitment process would start immediately and it was hoped restructuring would be complete by the end of the year or March 2010 at the latest.

He said the council needed to attract able candidates to cope with the “demanding” roles and expected to be able to advertise externally for the two new executive director positions, followed by the other seven senior roles.

Councillors largely welcomed the restructure – which would reportedly save between £170,000 and £260,000 a year – but questioned the proposed salary of the two new executive directors.

Concerns were also raised about the estimated £35,000 cost of employing a recruitment agency, although it was pointed out the council would seek to reduce the cost by using some in-house expertise. Councillors were also told that recent bad publicity for the council could have a detrimental effect on recruitment.

Coun Graham Beck (Ind) said he could not sanction wages of up to £75,000.

He believed the proposed salary was at the top end of the scale and questioned whether the new structure would save money: “I accept we need to have a new, lean structure, but it’s a very expensive lean structure. Do we really need gold executives, would not bronze ones do?”

Coun Polly English (Lib Dem) said: “Although I support the restructure, I cannot support the idea of bringing two people in at the salary quoted. In fact, this is more than our previous chief executive got. I am sure there are people out there who would come in for a lot less and would be proficient.”

Council leader Coun Chris Knowles-Fitton (Cons) pointed out £75,000 was the maximum proposed and the figure could be less: “This may not be perfect, but the structure will be a great deal better than the one we have.”

Coun Richard Welch (Con) said: “We’ve had bronze and aluminium people for too long. It’s about time we had gold top.”

Coun David Ireton (Ind) welcomed the cuts: “We have been top-heavy for too long. It does concern me what it will cost in wages, but if we want the best, we will have to pay.”

After the meeting, Mr Shevlin said it was anticipated the new structure would save the council £170,000 to £260,000 a year.

“At this stage it is difficult to predict an exact figure as the savings quoted are dependent on a full year’s operation and it is going to take some time to put this structure in place,” he said.

“There will also be costs associated with the restructure because of redundancies where members of staff cannot be redeployed.

“It is essential we have a senior management structure that is fit for purpose, with high-calibre staff, given the many challenges this council now faces.

“One of the key drivers for the new structure has been to save money, but we also have to work smarter and improve performance.”

And he said: “Our overall aim is to re-establish Craven Council as a respected provider of value for money, high-quality services.”