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Merged planning team for district councils
Cherwell District Council and South Northamptonshire District Council are close to agreeing plans for a shared planning service.
The proposal aims to save £150,000 through efficiency savings and new income opportunities, with the councils set to change management structures, increase efficiency savings, income generation and the harmonisation of IT systems.
The shared service is set to be implemented in three phases. The first phase would see the delivery of a shared staffing structure; the second would focus on income generation and efficiency savings; phase three would cover the harmonisation of IT and other systems.
The proposal is part of a wider organisational transformation programme which is running across the two authorities and which has already produced millions of pounds of savings. The latest proposal has been agreed by Cherwell District Council, with South Northamptonshire District Council due to agree plans next week.
Cllr Colin Clarke, Cherwell's lead member for planning, said: "Cherwell council and SNC have been working together to save the taxpayer money for a number of years now, and the majority of their teams are already working jointly.
"The goal of this business plan is for the development management teams to work as a single shared service, as other council teams have done. This will help the councils to protect services well into the future by proactively planning to cope with reductions in government funding. The proposals have been carefully thought through to offer a measured, phased transformation which will make substantial savings without reductions to frontline services."
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