Senior council boss resigns
ROLE AS STRATEGIC DIRECTOR WILL NOW BE SPLIT IN TWO
KIRKLEES Council is to split work being done across “very challenging agendas” such as climate change in the wake of the resignation of one of its most senior managers.
Karl Battersby, currently the council’s strategic director for economy and infrastructure, will leave the authority in August.
He is taking on a new role with North Yorkshire County Council.
Since joining Kirklees Mr Battersby has overseen a broad portfolio of responsibilities that has included waste management, planning and major project delivery.
He was at the heart of negotiations with union officials to prevent potentially crippling bin strikes.
He has fielded criticism over the council’s response to extreme weather events such as Storm Ciara.
And he presented the £250m
“Huddersfield Blueprint” at official unveiling last summer.
The council is now planning to split in two his role as strategic director, disestablishing it to create roles with separate focuses.
That role currently comes with a salary band of £115,000 to £134,999.
One role would focus on environment and climate change whilst bringing together property functions and the delivery of the council’s capital programme.
The second role would focus on growth and regeneration covering housing growth, town centre regeneration, planning and major project delivery.
In a report to the council’s Personnel Committee, chief executive Jacqui Gedman said the level of focus on environmental services, particularly cleansing, had taken “a disproportionate amount” of Mr Battersby’s time during a period of growth and regeneration.
She added that given that the council was “firmly in delivery mode” the authority required “additional capacity and focus.”
its
She commented: “Karl has done a sterling job but that directorate has been so big in terms of challenges that it seems right to focus an individual on climate change and those broader environmental issues that we’ve been tackling.”
Ms Gedman acknowledged the key strategic element of the roles and said the capability of those fulfilling them was paramount.
“They have to be the right people. The challenge is that everybody is going to want this skill base. We need to get off the mark really quickly - really scan the horizon and see if there are people out there that have that skill base.”
In response to a question from Clr Sue Lee-Richards (Green, Newsome) as to whether the council currently has sufficient officer capacity to support the evolving climate change agenda Ms Gedman said, “Not currently. We have to do something creative [to attract the right people].”
Council leader Clr Shabir Pandor also paid tribute to Mr Battersby, saying, “He has taken us through a really challenging time.”