ROSSENDALE Council is hoping its planned restructuring could solve staffing problems, which this week saw the borough solicitor hand in his notice.

John Tradewell has been at the council for 13 years, starting as assistant solicitor and after about two years he was appointed to the chief officer's post.

When he serves his three months' notice, the council will have only two of its five chief officers in post because leisure and engineering and planning are currently filled by acting officers.

Chief executive Steven Hartley, said: "In time for the next corporate policy meeting, we are looking at the authority internally and at chief officer level we are looking at restructuring.

"We are considering having myself as chief executive and then three directors, one for central services covering legal, accountancy, treasurer's and administration, a director of community services, which would cover housing, health and some of leisure and a director of development and environment services, who would cover engineering and planning, economic development, maybe some of leisure, refuse collection and highways. The whole of the public sector is struggling at the moment in recruiting and retaining personnel and there are national problems that are giving us difficulties like finding trained people.

"In one sense, restructuring is more a way of trying to use our scarce financial resources in a better way.

"If we can amalgamate departments, maybe we will be able to free up money to do other things, to do what we need to do like best value and corporate working."

A Unison spokesman at Rossendale Council said he was pleased the council were involving the union in every stage of the proposed restructuring.

He said: "The pay rates in Rossendale are at a lower level than other authorities and we don't think the planned out sourcing is helping staff morale. At least plans to out source the leisure department have fallen through.

"What matters is producing the best for the Borough of Rossendale and for that we have to have the staff to be able to do it."

Mr Tradewell is taking up a borough solicitor's post at Halton on the Wirral in a unitary authority.

Mr Hartley said: "Anyone who has had dealings with him wishes him well and is very sorry to see him go. He will be a big loss to everyone in terms of his ability and as a colleague I shall certainly miss him."