MALVERN Hills and Wychavon councils could save hundreds of thousands of pounds by merging senior management teams, say council leaders.

But a leading Lib Dem councillor at Wychavon said councillors will have to watch like hawks to make sure the councils are not destabilised.

There are currently nine senior managers in both councils but the plan is to cut that number to six, saving each authority £140,000 a year.

Cllr Charles Tucker said: "This reorganisation, or something like it, became inevitable when the councils agreed to have a shared chief executive/managing director last year. Lib Dem councillors warned then that it would not stop at the top post.

"There are substantial savings to be made, and no council can ignore those when central government is cutting local government to the core. However, I'm not convinced that the costs shown cover everything and will be questioning these closely.

"The crucial test is whether the new structure will be adequate for the challenges ahead. A major change like this can have unforeseen consequences and could end up destabilising both councils.

"Our residents must come first and the services they receive from our councils. Councillors will need to watch like hawks to make sure this new structure is up to the job."

Cllr John Raine, Green councillor on Malvern Hills said: "I don't think that this is a surprise to anyone. It's fair to say that the appointment of Jack Hegarty as joint chief executive has worked very well, with Mr Hegarty devoting a lot of time to Malvern, but we can't continue shedding staff without any consequences."

Cllr Phil Grove, leader of Malvern Hills, said: “Despite facing severe cuts to our funding, we’ve made a commitment to protect front line services as much as we possibly can. That requires us to look at measures such as this.

“The important thing is we remain separate organisations and it will continue to be Malvern Hills councillors setting the priorities and making the decisions.”

Cllr Linda Robinson, leader of Wychavon, said: “We’ve already demonstrated how sharing senior management can benefit both organisations as well as save money and this seems the next logical step.

"We have a very talented group of staff who I’m confident will be able to manage the changes to ensure the needs of Wychavon residents continue to be met and crucially, the decision-making will still be done by Wychavon councillors.”

The two councils have already saved £190,000 by sharing a chief executive/managing director, head of paid service, head of housing and planning and head of economic development.

It is hoped the changes will be made through voluntary redundancies, which could cost an estimated £220,000. The money will come from a government grant both councils received to transform the way they work, not from money to run services.

The plan has been put forward as part of the councils’ response a drop in funding of 53 per cent since 2010/11, with further cuts expected in the chancellor's autumn statement.

Councillors will vote on the proposal at Malvern Hills on Tuesday, October 20, and Wychavon the next day. If approved, it is expected to take 12 to 18 months to implement the plan.