West Yorkshire Combined Authority will replace its chief operating officer role with an executive director for economy.
The authority will also create a director of transport commercial position following the ‘extended absence and subsequent departure' of executive director for transport Simon Warburton, as well as the resignation of director of mass transit Mike Birch.
A report to a meeting of the combined authority board yesterday read: ‘The creation of the executive director for economy role will be cost neutral as the vacant chief operating officer post will be removed from the establishment and replaced with this role, ensuring no overall increase in senior staffing costs while better aligning leadership capacity to strategic economic priorities.'
Despite the changes, a report to a meeting next week warns the combined authority was ‘unlikely' to reduce the ‘very high' risk attached to its pledge to deliver a tram-based mass transit system.
