A TOP council officer says a row over the leadership of a regeneration panel has been "pointless" and potentially damaging for the authority.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council's interim council manager Chris Harman, has criticised councillors' decision to try to influence the choice of chairman for the North Staffordshire Regeneration Partnership (NSRP) board.

And he said that opposition members risked upsetting other key partners by ignoring his pleas not to interfere in the running of the organisation.

His comments followed a bitter row which erupted at last week's full council meeting over the possible appointment of an independent chairman to replace elected mayor Mark Meredith.

Mr Meredith stood down from the unpaid role last month following his arrest by police investigating allegations of political corruption.

The mayor, who denies any wrongdoing, stepped down as chairman while the police inquiry continues, but remains a member of the board.

The NSRP is expected to appoint a new interim chairman later this month.

But the organisation is also considering proposals to appoint a paid, non-political chairman from June, when Mr Meredith's tenure was due to expire.

The successful candidate would have to be an existing board member, but would be able to claim an allowance of between £20,000 and £30,000.

However, the proposal has angered some councillors, who feel the post should go to an accountable political figure, namely the new council leader who is elected in June.

Non-Aligned group spokesman councillor Mick Salih has submitted an amended motion to instruct the city council's representatives on the NSRP board not to vote for an independent chairman.

Mr Salih told the council: "I have been told that the executive are hell-bent on appointing an independent chair of the NSRP board with a £30,000 salary.

"But 90 per cent of the NSRP funding is spent in this city."

He added: "The chair of that board should be the new leader of this council, who will be elected on June 5."

Members voted 35 to 16 in favour of the amendment, despite warnings from Mr Harman and Conservative and Independent Alliance leader councillor Ross Irving that it could damage relations between the council and its partners.

Mr Harman told councillors he believed last Thursday's vote was "a mistake".

He said: "I was particularly disappointed with the amendment that was put forward because it affects how we work with the partnership.

"It is not about the council being in the driving seat of the partnership; sometimes it's better to let someone else drive because that way you get more co-operation.

"I advised members against proceeding with that amendment because there is no voting by the board on that matter, so it was a bit of a mistake as it was a pointless amendment."

He added: "That is not the way to work in partnership."

But Mr Salih said councillors felt the issue was about elected members being sidelined by officers, and the vote had been an expression of members' frustration.

He said: "We are going to have a new system in June, when the leader of the council will be making the decisions, and we will decide whether to take officers' advice or not.

"I think people are pre-judging the council leader system and trying to undermine it before it has even got off the ground."