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Wanted, quick, a new boss of environment
Michael Byrne10/ 1/2006
TOWN Hall chiefs still haven't found a new head for one of their frontline services six months after a failed attempt cost them £20,000.
Paula Darlington was head of environmental management until she left in June to join Warrington Council.
She was in charge of a whole range of services, including bin collection and street cleaning, parks, cemeteries, bowling greens and recycling.
A major row erupted in the summer when it was revealed more than £20,000 had been spent on consultants and the hiring of a room at the Norton Grange Hotel in a failed bid to find a successor.
Lib Dem councillors branded the process a waste of money.
Peter Cunningham, head of the street services, was named acting head and still holds this post.
A special employment committee met shortly before Christmas.
It decided against filling the vacant post and the position won't be reviewed until later in the year.
Another row broke out at the same time when Tory leader, Councillor Ian Duckworth, accused Councillor Wera Hobhouse (Lib Dem), an interview panel member, of disrupting the appointment process when she couldn't get her own way over the political make-up of the panel.
Councillor Brenda Kerslake was due to be one of the Lib Dem representatives, but couldn't make it to the shortlisting process on the first day of the panel's meetings.
Labour and Conservative members ruled her absence meant she couldn't take part in the interviews.
So Mrs Hobhouse walked out and then tried to get her husband, Councillor William Hobhouse, onto the panel, but Labour and Tory members blocked the bid and she left again.
The following day Mrs Hobhouse was accused of gatecrashing the panel to get back onto it and was asked to leave.
She said she should have been allowed to stay.
She said the party could have taken their other member, Councillor Peter Davison, out as well, which would have stopped the process altogether.
But they allowed the interviews to go ahead and still no-one was appointed.
Councillor Wera Hobhouse, who is the Lib Dem environment spokesman, said: "The biggest challenge for our environmental management department is to reduce the waste that goes to landfill.
"This can't be met without a head of department.
"We're failing to meet these targets for this year and the financial penalties in the future could be massive,
"So we really need to develop a proper recycling strategy."
John Patterson, executive director, said: "We have an acting head of service to ensure the appropriate management arrangements are in place until we can make a permanent appointment."
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Why expensive consultants?why can't the Council Exexcutives do this job, and why can't the Town Hall, or other offices, be used for interviews instead of expensive hotels?
http://spgc.org support marland golf course
13/01/2006 at 16:16