A spend of £30,000 on staffing costs has been agreed for new roles in East Devon aimed at supporting a district council restructure.

A restructure of senior officers at East Devon has been agreed as the authority announces its new chief executive, writes local democracy reporter Bradley Gerrard.

Local Democracy Reporter eastdevonnews.co.uk

Tracy Hendren emerged as the preferred candidate from an initial field of 20, and was recommended as the best person for the job after a two-day long interview process of four finalists.

Ms Hendren’s appointment was unanimously approved by Councillors at an extraordinary council meeting this week (Wednesday, May 8), and straight away a restructure within the senior team of officers was proposed.

The council currently has three directors under the chief executive, but will now create a director of housing and health, and a director of place, meaning four directors under the new boss.

Councillors agreed a budget of up to £30,000 for the recruitment costs involved.

Ms Hendren, who prior to her new role was one of three interim CEOs at the council and its director of housing, health and environment, said the current structure within the senior and officer team was “imbalanced” and needed to be amended.

“We have some challenges with housing financial viability and we want to make sure we have a director focusing on housing and housing stock moving forward,” she said.

In Ms Hendren’s director role, she said she had seven direct reports “covering very different services”.

“What we want to do is recruit a director of place and a director of housing and health which will rebalance some of that structure,” she said.

She said was “confident” the two directors would have similar combined staffing numbers to the size of the team at present, suggesting it was therefore more “direct line management changes rather than a full restructure”.

The aim is to put interim directors into the new posts, providing so-called ‘acting up’ opportunities for internal staff to take on the roles while the recruitment process for permanent staff from a potential pool of internal and external candidates takes place.

She added that all directors had been asked to prepare proposals for the longer-term structures of their teams, including their financial viability.

“We’re not bringing this plan because we want to increase staffing costs,” she said.

“We are going to manage it within existing resources in the same way we did when we made changes to the housing team earlier this year.”

Councillor Mike Goodman (Conservative, Sidmouth Sidford) queried whether the changes could really be made with no impact on the budget.

“I was slightly surprised at that,” he said, adding: “So will the restructure come within the current finances?”

Ms Hendren said “absolutely”, reaffirming the example of the recent housing restructure.

The new interim directors are expected to start on June 1, enabling Ms Hendren to begin her new role on the same day. Permanent recruits could take three or four months to secure, the meeting heard.

Leader Paul Arnott (Liberal Democrat, Coly Valley) said the restructure “makes the most enormous sense” following the departure over the past four years of a deputy chief executive, former director of housing, health and environment John Golding, who retired last year, and the departure of another senior staff member.

“I think this is very welcome and long overdue, and it’s worth restating that the new chief executive won the role from a field of 20 pretty outstanding applicants,” he said.

“And while it wasn’t preordained that she would win, she did, and the advantage of that [to the council]is that we can get on with this restructure immediately rather than in what would have been six months’ time [with an external candidate],” he said.

Councillor Eleanor Rylance (Liberal Democrat, Broadclyst), the chair of the council, also acknowledged the “pretty gruelling” interview process undertaken to select the new chief executive and congratulated Ms Hendren on her new role.

At the same meeting, Melanie Wellman was also reappointed as the council’s returning officer.

Party increases its share of the vote

Jack Major won the Ashburton and Buckfastleigh by-election which was called after the death of Lib Dem councillor Huw Cox in January.

Guy Henderson – Local Democracy Reporter www.radioexe.co.uk

Cllr Major’s win – with a majority of 192 – brings the Lib Dem group back up to 26 out of 47 members of Teignbridge Council.

Council leader Martin Wrigley (Lib Dem, Dawlish NE) said: “It’s great to see Jack win with a 192 majority and an increased vote share, and I know that Jack will be a great councillor for the area.

“Huw would have been delighted to see Jack join the council.”

Cllr Cox was chairman of Buckfastleigh Town Council and the town’s current mayor at the time of his death..

Cllr Wrigley said then: “He was always an outspoken advocate for his community. His contributions to this council were many and varied.

“This council, and I personally, will miss him very much as a councillor and as a friend.”

By-election results were: CLARKE, Sue, South Devon Alliance 523; EDLMANN, Richard, Conservative Party Candidate 325; HUNT, Madeleine, Heritage Party 36; MAJOR, Jack, Liberal Democrats 715; ROBILLARD WEBB, Lisa, Labour Party 303; HEXT, Michael, Independent 136; WYNTER, Pauline, Green Party 295.

eastdevon.gov.uk 

Tracy Hendren’s appointment as East Devon District Council’s (EDDC) new Chief Executive was confirmed by councillors at an extraordinary full council meeting on Wednesday, 8 May.

Tracy Hendren, CEO of East Devon District Council

Following an extensive recruitment process, Tracy emerged as the preferred candidate to lead the council into a new era. With more than two decades of experience in local and national government, and a proven track record of effective leadership. Tracy brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her new role, previously she was the Director of Housing, Health and Environment at EDDC and one of the three interim CEOs. Before this, Tracy was the Assistant Director of Housing, Environmental Health, and Trading Standards at The Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead. Her career has spanned across central Government, and District and Unitary Authorities within City and London Borough areas.

Commenting on her appointment, Councillor Paul Arnott, Leader of EDDC and the Democratic Alliance group, said:
“Tracy will be an outstanding chief executive with extensive experience in local and national government and in the private sector. East Devon faces massive legacy challenges from previous administrations around housing and other matters, and a fresh perspective after decades of business as normal is now vital. We could not be more fortunate in appointing someone who already knows the organisation from the inside and who is a superb professional with a work ethic to match.”

Councillor Colin Brown, Leader of the opposition Conservative group, added:
“The Conservative Group is hopeful that the new CEO will bring fresh perspectives and innovative ideas to address the challenges that exist. It is crucial for the new CEO to work closely with all council members, employees, and the community to understand the unique needs and priorities of EDDC. Open communication Is the key to ensuring that the council is able to meet the demands of its residents.”

Councillor Tony McCollum, Leader of the Independent group said:
“On behalf of myself and the Independent Group we congratulate Tracy on her new appointment as CEO and look forward to working together for the benefit of East Devon District Council and our constitutes.”

Tracy’s appointment comes at a pivotal moment for East Devon, after the recent adoption of its council plan and a peer review undertaken by the Local Government Association earlier in the year as the council continues to navigate the challenges and opportunities facing the region and local government. Her leadership will be instrumental in guiding the council forward as it strives to build a brighter future for East Devon and its residents.