A CULTURE vulture is being offered up to £10,000 as an incentive to move to Brighton and Hove and oversee the city’s rich artistic scene.

Brighton and Hove City Council is hoping the potential five-figure relocation package on top of a £77,000 salary will be sufficient to attract the right candidate for the newly-created post of arts and culture programme director.

Critics of the expense claim the post should require little added incentive to work in one of the country’s leading cultural melting pots.

An advert for the post calls for a candidate capable of shaping the ambition for a “world-class arts, culture and heritage offer” for the next 10 years.

The post is a new version of the assistant chief executive role vacated by Paula Murray.

Ms Murray was “loaned” to Croydon Council initially for a six-month period in April but that was made permanent in August.

Brighton and Hove was paid monthly by Croydon for Ms Murray’s £78,000 salary during her loan.

GMB branch secretary Mark Turner said the new role would be significantly diminished, with the Royal Pavilion and Brighton Centre set to move out of direct council control.

He said: “It’s extremely bizarre considering the council is 13 months away from offloading the Royal Pavilion, culture now falls under Nick Hibberd and the other major thing under Paula, libraries, now falls under communities.

“The chief executive included Paula Murray’s job as an example of savings from his restructuring but all they are doing is changing the name of the role less than a year on and we are back where we were.

“The council makes great play of having no money but is increasing senior management at a time when it’s cutting frontline services.”

The Green’s culture spokesman, Tom Druitt, said the loss of the council’s “culture tsar” to Croydon had meant a loss of expertise.

He said: “There are lots of other cities hoping to gain on us and Croydon is one of those areas doing so.

“The council may have got some money out of it but it has cost the city, I wonder whether it was worth it.”

Mr Hibberd, who was confirmed as the council’s new executive director of economy, environment and culture in September, praised Ms Murray’s “tremendous contribution” to arts and culture in the city.

He said the renaming of his title to include culture reflected the importance with which it was held by the city council.

A council spokesman said: “We want to attract the best candidates for this important new role.

“Relocation may be offered to successful candidates who need to move to take up their role.”