New Deputy Leader is appointed for North East Lincolnshire Cabinet
LEADER OF NELC WILL TAKE ON HIS FORMER DEPUTY’S ROLE AT THE HELM OF REGENERATION AND JOBS
THE Leader of North East Lincolnshire Council has appointed a new deputy following the shock departure of Councillor John Fenty.
Less than 24 hours after his dramatic resignation following questions over his business dealings with a convicted fraudster, the former Deputy Leader has been replaced by another cabinet member, Councillor Stan Shreeve. The Leader, Councillor Philip Jackson, has decided to take on the role of portfolio holder for regeneration, housing and skills. That was previously carried out over the 19-month life of the Conservative administration, by Councillor Fenty.
He was due to oversee the transformation of Grimsby town centre, including the redesign of St James’ Square, the construction of the new university campus and Horizon Youth Zone on Garth Lane. But that will now be taken on by the Leader who has cut the number of members of his cabinet from eight to seven, creating a cost-saving.
Councillor Jackson already has overall responsibility for the £80 million Grimsby Town Deal, aimed at creating hundreds of jobs in the town. Announcing the appointment, the North East Lincolnshire Council Leader said: “Stan’s skills and experience will help us maintain the huge progress we’ve made in the last 18 months and his finance background will also be a big asset in not only making the most of the exciting opportunities the area has, but also in tackling the challenges we know we face going forward.
“Our focus will remain firmly on what our residents want to see delivered and building on what we’ve achieved in such a short time.”
Councillor Shreeve, who is a fellow ward councillor for Humberston and New Waltham with Councillor Fenty, added: “I share the Leader’s passion about making North East Lincolnshire a more prosperous, pleasant and safer place for all our residents, businesses and visitors and it’s a huge honour to be invited to be Deputy Leader.
“In that role, as well as my responsibilities for finance and resources, I’ll be looking to continue to support the Leader and Cabinet colleagues in taking the borough forward into 2021.” The Leader will take on the portfolio holder for regeneration, skills and housing previously held by Councillor Fenty, including economic strategy, inward investment and business support, regeneration, assets (corporate, commercial, community) and estate management, all aspects of housing, skills and employability.