Following the resignation of two senior members of staff, the Leader of Cheshire East Council has announced that changes will be made to the Council's management structure.
John Nicholson, Strategic Director for Places and Organisational Capacity, and Caroline Elwood, Borough Solicitor and Monitoring Officer, whose actions were investigated in relation to the Lyme Green fiasco both resigned last week.
Councillor Michael Jones, Leader of Cheshire East Council, said: "I have asked the Chief Executive to put interim management arrangements in place quickly, to avoid any disruption to our services, following the recent resignations of two of our senior staff.
"John Nicholson, our Strategic Director for Places and Organisational Capacity, and Caroline Elwood, Borough Solicitor and Monitoring Officer, have left their employment with Cheshire East Council.
"As I have said recently, after Christmas the Chief Executive and I will bring forward proposals for less opaque, more accountable, more effective and less-costly management structures.
"Further details about these improvements will be made available in the new year."
The actions of John Nicholson and Caroline Elwood, along with another senior member of staff, were examined by a Designated Independent Person (DIP), in connection with Cheshire East Council's plans to build a recycling station at the Lyme Green site in Macclesfield.
The Council spent over £800,000 of taxpayers money on the aborted Lyme Green scheme and broke planning rules as the main contractor commenced work on the site three weeks before a planning application was submitted. In addition officers did not comply with EU Procurement Regulations or ensure there was effective reporting to members of the council.
The confidential report of the DIP was completed last week and passed to the Council's Staffing Sub Committee for consideration.
The Sub Committee, which has delegated authority to act in this matter, will meet today, Tuesday 18th, to considerate what action should be taken in the light of the DIP's findings and recommendations.
