City Hall is on the hunt for a new housing chief with a salary of £90,000 after the department became mired in a scandal over a lack of safety inspections at properties.

The candidate for the post - which has been covered on an interim basis since December 2021 - will be responsible for making sure the authority's 14,500 homes are all fit for purpose.

The previous department head, Lee Robson, left the council in October last year.

His departure came weeks after it was revealed hundreds of people in Norwich council homes had potentially been put in danger because crucial inspections relating to fire, water and electrical safety were not done.

Norwich City Council refused to reveal the circumstances of Mr Robson's departure, saying he had left to "pursue other opportunities" outside the authority.

Around £1.2m has been spent on clearing backlogs and completing overdue gas checks, with the majority of electrical tests now completed.

In June, it was revealed that 1,600 fire safety checks would have to be redone because previous inspections may be been undertaken by unqualified officials.

The new post is a director position, covering housing and community safety, and is more senior than the role that was covered by Mr Robson.

Norwich has one of the largest housing portfolios of any local council in the country, covering around 22pc of the housing in the city.

The council has advertised the position, with a wage of around £90,000. The application closes on September 9.