The new assistant chief executive at Wolverhampton City Council was today revealed as Joanne Lancaster.

Miss Lancaster will take up her £84,000-a-year post on January 5, working alongside chief executive Richard Carr.

She was previously deputy chief executive at North Shropshire District Council and has 20 years of experience in local government.

The major focus for her role will be to help the council transform Wolverhampton’s economy and tackle inequalities.

But critics say its creation is an unnecessary expense at a time when the authority is trying to save £40 million by axing 150 jobs and scaling back services.

Councillors in both the ruling Tory party and the previous Labour group which was voted out in May support the Miss Lancaster’s role, saying she will help modernise the council and make savings which will justify her high salary.

Mr Carr said: “The council is working closely with partners to set out an ambitious plan to transform the city. I’m confident that Joanne will bring great energy and skill to developing and delivering this plan to make a real difference to people’s lives.

“In her former role, Joanne helped North Shropshire District Council improve its comprehensive performance assessment rating from poor to good and ensured the council was released from supervision.”

Liberal Democrat councillor Malcolm Gwinnett said he wished Miss Lancaster well but did not agree with the creation of an assistant chief executive. He said: “I am not happy with this because in the present economic climate it is an unnecessary burden on taxpayers. This started under Labour and the Tories carried it through so there was never any chance of voting this down.”

Conservative finance chief Councillor Wendy Thompson said: “It is absolutely essential we have a constant review to ensure we offer value for money, especially with the current pressures facing the authority.

“We will always keep the position under review and if it does not work out we will reconsider.” 

Miss Lancaster’s background is in planning, working her way up from technical assistant to development executive with responsibility for development and building control, conservation and urban design.  She said: “I’m very keen to get started at Wolverhampton and delighted to have the opportunity to play such a challenging role in helping to transform the council and the city.”