The shake up, approved by the council's cabinet, will see the role of deputy chief executive scrapped alongside two department boss positions.

The move, which will now go before the whole council for approval, will save the cash-strapped authority nearly £90,000 a year.

It will see the posts of nine top bosses, who currently earn more than £530,000 between them, slimmed down to six.

David Joy, the authority's £78,117 per year deputy chief executive, heads the list of those whose roles are threatened.

The eight bosses concerned include David Jenkinson, paid £67,772 as head of the under-fire Streetscene department, which overspent by £607,000 last year, £60,370 per year council solicitor and monitoring officer Ian Curtis and £60,204 per year finance director Brian White.

The remaining officers, Allan Oldfield, Paul Norris, Tracy Scholes, Claire Platt and Paul Walker are each paid £53,556 per year.

Under the new structure, five directors would be paid £58,000 per year, with one receiving an extra £12,000 to deputise for the chief executive.

However, council leader John Coombes says the move is about delivering better value for money and not necessarily saving money.

He said: "The actual saving, if we need to spend to get the right people, could be negated.

"This isn't driven by money, this is driven by the need to address future priorities and get the right skills in place."

Town hall chiefs say they are prepared to advertise the posts externally if the right candidates are not currently working for the council.

Coun Tim Ashton, cabinet member for Streetscene, said: "We are duty bound, I believe, to make sure we get the right calibre of person."

Opposition Independent councillors have claimed the shake up has been taken from alternative budget proposals, submitted in March.

That claim has been rejected by ruling Tories.

Coun Liz Oades, leader of the group, said: "We put this idea forward.

"I'm pleased the administration have taken on our budget proposals."

However St Annes Liberal Democrat Coun Howard Henshaw has spoken against the move because it could see some top bosses receiving more cash.

He said: "All they (the executives) are doing is getting rid of a few and awarding themselves extra money."

Fylde chief executive Phil Woodward, who is paid an annual salary of £85,000, will not be included in the changes.