BURNLEY Council bosses have been asked to justify a decision to employ a new director less than three months after making 20 staff redundant.

Senior Town Hall officers want to spend £114,500 hiring two new directors. Now leader of the council, Stuart Caddy, and chief executive Gillian Taylor have been called to explain the decision.

Bosses decided to take on a director to oversee the Pathfinder regeneration programme and another leadership director to support Burnley's senior councillors.

A special meeting has been called to discuss the appointment of the leadership director where councillor Caddy and Mrs Taylor will speak.

The move upset employees who asked the public service union UNISON to step in.

Peter Thorne, representative of the union, wrote to the authority to say they did not see the need for a new project director.

Mr Thorne added: "We do not see the need for a leadership director at a time when they have just made 20 people redundant.

"It seems particularly offensive to our low paid staff that they have been able to find the money to fill these posts."

The decision to hire a leadership director has been called in by a council scrutiny committee. The matter can be referred back to the executive committee, to the full council or it can be passed without alteration.

Chair of the scrutiny committee councillor Peter Doyle said: "We have called the decision in because we feel there has been inadequate consultation with members.

"They are calling this post a champion of members, but we think no members were consulted.

"The only members that were consulted, that we are aware, were the members of the council's executive committee.

"We are not questioning the directorship for market renewal because we feel that is something we have got to get right."