STAFF consultations on job losses at Cherwell District Council are under way after the approval of management restructuring plans.

Ten top jobs are set to go under the proposals, drawn up by new chief executive Mary Harpley.

Last week, it was announced that middle- and top-tier officers at the council could face redundancy under the restructuring scheme. Now the council has announced that staff consultation on the changes has already started.

Around 30 posts in the top two tiers of management are being reviewed. The goal is to reduce that number to 20.

Two top-ranking officers, head of planning Alan Jones and district treasurer Graham Simcox, have already taken early retirement.

The restructuring was given the go-ahead when the council's executive agreed to a series of changes on how services are to be delivered.

The changes will see five departments reduced to four, and the strategic management team will shrink from six to five.

In a statement, the council said the purpose of the changes was to enable delivery of the Cherwell Community Plan, which sets out priorities for the district's residents.

The new structure will introduce three new strategic director roles - planning, housing, and economy; environment and community; customer service, resources, and performance; and an additional post of head of improvement.

The statement said recruitment to the new roles would begin straight away.

James Macnamara, the executive member for organisational development, said: "We are a good local authority in Audit Commission terms but we refuse to stand still.

"When Mary Harpley joined us in May we asked her to look at our structure in light of the council's priorities."

Mrs Harpley said: "At the heart of this restructure lies the aim to ensure that this council continues to deliver what the people of the district want.

"The community plan lays out the priorities and each new strategic director will be responsible for working with councillors to make sure we deliver the community plan's themes.

"This restructure will also allow us to sharpen our focus on value for money and on being as accessible as possible to our residents whenever they need to talk to us."

Costs incurred by the council in implementing the new structure will pay for itself in about three and a half years."

Mr Macnamara added: "This is not a cost-cutting exercise."