Local authority leaders in Northern Ireland have welcomed the ‘once in a lifetime' chance of 4,000 public sector jobs being moved out of Belfast. Ahead of council chief executives gathering in Belfast, an independent review has recommended a series of pilot schemes to move jobs to Ballymena, Coleraine, Craigavon, Londonderry, Newry and Omagh. If the schemes prove successful, a further 1,500 posts could be moved, with smaller towns, such as Cookstown, Downpatrick and Enniskillen, benefiting from future staff moves. Omagh DC chairman, Cllr Martin McColgan, has said the report offered a once in a lifetime opportunity to share the benefits of public sector employment throughout the province. The review panel, which included Brian Hannan, chairman of the Local Government Staff Commission and former chief executive of Belfast, was set up by the Stormont Executive last November under the chairmanship of George Bain. The move came because of growing concerns over the concentration of public sector jobs in the capital, which caused an imbalance in the province's economy.