Claims that Kent County Council is in freefall in the face of the departure of a number of top officers have been rejected by the ruling Conservative administration.

County councillors voiced their concerns about the time it was taking to fill a number of key posts in two of the authority’s main departments, saying services could suffer.

It follows the departures of four of the most senior officials in the council’s environment and regeneration directorate, which deals with Kent’s roads. Managing director Adam Wilkinson stepped down unexpectedly earlier this month and education chief Graham Badman has announced he is to retire next month.

KCC chief executive Peter Gilroy told members of KCC’s cross-party cabinet scrutiny committee that he had taken charge of the environment directorate on a temporary basis - and would be dealing with any complaints from residents about roads.

Interim appointments to four posts are not expected to be completed for at least two weeks.

Another departure was announced this week, with county planning officer Leigh Herrington retiring.

Liberal Democrat group leader Cllr Trudy Dean said any other organisation that had lost so many senior officers from a single department would be described as “being in freefall”.

“I have a grave concern over the continuation of highways services. That is the service people complain about most and it is the one department which has no people in the top six positions. We are looking at up to six months before these are filled permanently,” she said.

Opposition Labour group leader Cllr Mike Eddy said the exodus of senior staff was extraordinary. “If not having someone in a position won’t affect services, especially if that position is highly paid, then you’ve got to ask why the job exists at all,” he said.

KCC deputy leader Cllr Alex King (Con) said it remained business as usual and the council was moving to deal with the vacancies at the same time as looking at re-organising the highways department.

“We are not in freefall. We are making changes as people decide the time has come to move on. I know there is some concern among members and the committee is entirely right to raise it but [vacanies] will be filled.”