BASILDON Council is looking to recruit a globetrotting officer to try to encourage foreign firms to set up in the borough.

The council wants a senior international development officer to jet abroad and lure international firms to the borough and secure European Union funding.

But the up to £42,000-a-year role has come in for plenty of criticism from opposition councillors.

Nigel Smith, Basildon Labour group deputy leader, feels the post is a luxury the authority can ill-afford at a time when it is still having to make budget cuts.

He said: “I think this will come as a surprise to local residents and I am not sure they will agree this is an effective use of their money.

“At the moment, so many services face being cut and there are desperate concerns about the lack of streetlights at night, people are suffering from the bedroom tax, the police force is being cut and we have a tremendous housing problem.

“People are being sacked, so we should recruit more staff to deal with that. I think residents would want the council to focus on the day job rather than sending an entrepreneur to far flung places so that some people in business can make a lot of money.

“We are a local council and I think it is the job of the coalition to establish these sorts of trade links”

Mr Smith was also critical of the fact councillors had not been informed about the creation of the position before it was advertised and said he was surprised the Tory administration was looking at getting EU funding when the party nationally had promised a referendum on membership.

But Basildon Council Tory leader Phil Turner defended the plans and said through previous visits to countries overseas, firms had set up in the borough and Essex businesses had been able to get contracts.

He said: “This new post all ties in with our drive to keep Basildon the business hub of south Essex and improving the relations we have already built up in India and China.”

“Soon, we will be taking two local firms out to India and there is an Indian delegation coming over here to look at the borough.”

Mr Turner said some of £200,000 set aside in the new budget for attracting businesses to the area may be used on the post, but he added the majority of travel costs associated with the post would be funded by Europe.

He added: “Part of the new job will be accessing European Union money so we can use that to fund these sorts of visits.”