A NEW county council Director for Fenland could be on the cards to break through red tape and boost prospects for the district. In a pilot initiative Cambridgeshire County Council is looking to create a Director post whose responsibility will be to focu

A NEW county council 'Director for Fenland' could be on the cards to break through red tape and boost prospects for the district.

In a pilot initiative Cambridgeshire County Council is looking to create a Director post whose responsibility will be to focus on improving the way councils and organisations work together to deliver services in Fenland.

A county council spokesman: "The pilot scheme is part of a set of proposed changes reflecting the council's priorities, and reduces management overheads. It is designed to make a real difference to communities and make front-line services clearer and more co-ordinated."

The proposals include putting customer services at the heart of the council with the aim of making sure everyone who contacts the authority gets the same high standard of service.

Cambridgeshire County Councillor Jill Tuck, leader, said: "There is evidence to suggest certain communities in Fenland have poorer heath and educational achievement than other parts of the county.

"We have been working hard to close that gap and this new post is a continuation of this vital work. The major task for this post will be to build on the good relations we already have with partner councils and agencies to make sure Fenland gets the best services it can.

"The post will be a high profile and high responsibility role. This pilot scheme is part of common sense changes we are looking to introduce which will put what our communities want at the heart of the services we deliver."

It is proposed the new Fenland post will work closely with Fenland District Council's management team to help deliver joint projects.

County councillor Alan Melton described the Fenland job as "an imaginative post and will for the first time focus resources towards the north of the county."

He said it was important that some of the relative wealth of Cambridgeshire as a whole was extended to Fenland.

"We in Fenland still have low educational attainment at all key stage levels and the level of skills is also lower than what is acceptable."

Cllr Melton added: "With this new appointment we can all focus on breaking this cycle that has been around for far too long. If we don't take this opportunity now, we all will have failed.