Braintree Council plans to hire a manager to look after the district’s three town centres have drawn fire from traders in one of them.

Councillors are due to vote on Tuesday on plans to spend £50,000 employing a manager to promote Braintree, Witham and Halstead town centres for a year.

Halstead Chamber of Trade and Halstead town councillor Jackie Pell both think it will be a waste of money.

Chamber chairman Steve Kirby, who runs Steve’s Hardware in The Centre, Halstead, said: “Can’t they do it already with the people they have got in-house?

“Rather than spend £50,000 on someone, they could spend it on projects, such as bollards in the High Street to provide electricity for market stall holders.

“Braintree Council is already working with the chamber to get things moving.

“I thought we had covered most areas. We have tried all different ways of getting people into town.”

Town councillor Jackie Pell added: “£50,000 is an awful lot. We do things like that through the Halstead Town Centre Strategy Group.

“There’s a lot of other things that we need, like CCTV. I would rather have that first, to give the town a bit of security.

“People are feeling the pinch and it is a poke in the eye when people are on the minimum wage and factories are closing.”

The brief of the manager – who would not cost the council a penny, as the post would be funded by a Government grant – would be to boost trade in the three town centres.

The manager would work with trader to attract shoppers, bring new businesses into empty shops, organise events, manage local markets and help each town make the most of its strengths.

Nigel Harley, Braintree councillor responsible for enterprise and culture, said: “We have a real concern because of the effects of the recession and empty shops.

“We have a lot of empty premises in the town centres and felt we would like to concentrate on that.”

Insp Neil Murray, based at Halstead police station, welcomed the move.

He said: “It might be a positive thing, because there’s more unity, with someone working across all three towns and liaising between police, agencies and shops.”

The 12-month post would be funded under the Government’s Local Authority Business Growth Incentive scheme.