A NEW assistant director is to be appointed to the council in a bid to make savings in property and asset management.

The cabinet agreed in principle to create a “corporate property function”, which is a single department covering property, asset management and major projects.

Following cabinet approval, the new director will be in charge of this department.

A report put before the cabinet states: “The proposal reflects best practice as set out by the Audit Commission and Communities and Local Government.

“It gives the council additional capacity in managing major projects such as Building Schools for the Future and will contribute to the council's efficiency objectives under the Smarter Spending Programme.”

The report continues: “The management of the council's land and property assets is currently fragmented with the main elements located in either the Finance Directorate or Children and Young People Directorate.

“Each directorate has its own management structure to run their respective property roles.”

A report by Communities and Local Government (CLG) showed “fragmented asset management” could have a damaging effect on the authority and could result in “losing economies of scale”.

An Audit Commission report also found the average authority spends eight per cent of its revenue on management and running costs of assets.

The result was a proposal for a “centralised model” with a single function reporting to the interim assistant director.

The new position of assistant director will be created “with immediate effect” on an interim basis until a consultation with affected staff is completed.

A report by the director on the new centralised model will be put before the cabinet in October.

The post is expected to be filled either by the chief officer leading property-related functions in Children and Young People or Environment and Regeneration.