Warrington: Chief exec retirement 'right time for council reset'
A 'beacon' of regeneration
Prof Broomhead was the local authority's chief executive from 1997 to 2003 and then took up the role again, initially on an interim basis, in 2012.From 2003 to 2010, he was the chief executive of the North West Regional Development Agency.Prof Broomhead said during his time in charge at Warrington Council, he was proud of the redevelopment of the town centre, in particular the council's Time Square development."I'm proud about how we've managed to deliver so much, given the level of funding we've had," he said."We work here in Warrington really well in a partnership way with the private sector."I think we've done some really good things here, we're often held up as a beacon of how to do regeneration."
But he also highlighted his work at the NWRDA, in particular the regeneration of MediaCity in Salford, and said the agency's work is still noted more than a decade after its closure."People still approach me about it and talk about the things we did because they triggered lots of other investments."MediaCity was just the BBC moving out of London with seven departments, but it's been a great economic success and other media companies, including private companies, have joined MediaCity."There's examples of that all round the North West."The regional development agencies were closed in 2012 and replaced with local enterprise partnerships, which were now set to have their functions merged with councils and combined authorities after the withdrawal of central government funding.He said he hoped devolution would provide an alternative.Cheshire and Warrington was currently going through the devolution process and was set to elect its first mayor in May 2026."I hope what you'll see is the combined authorities, which we hope we'll have a full set of within a year, they'll work co-operatively around the economic agenda."
Time for a 'reset'
Warrington Council has faced controversy in recent years, especially around its investment programme which has led to it building up around £1.8bn in debt.A government inspection was ordered after concerns about the level of debt, and it has been recommended that ministerial envoys be sent into the authority.Prof Broomhead said his decision to retire was not linked to the recent inspection and he thought now was time to handover for a "reset"."Someone else will lead [the council] in a different way than I have for the last 20 years, so I think now is the right time," he said.
See more Cheshire stories from the BBC and follow BBC North West on X. For more local politics coverage, BBC Politics North West is on BBC One on Sunday at 10:00am and on BBC iPlayer.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
28 minutes ago
- The Independent
Applied Nutrition beats guidance amid strong sales momentum
Applied Nutrition has revealed stronger-than-expected sales for the past year and said it is on track to surpass estimates for next year after strong recent demand. Shares in the sports nutrition and health business shot higher in early trading on Tuesday as a result, taking them to their highest level for six months. The Coleen Rooney-backed firm's sales jumped by 24% to around £107 million for the year to July 31, compared with the previous year. It had previously guided towards revenues of around £100 million. Analysts at Panmure Liberum said the performance was driven by 'new listings, more shelf space and increased distribution in partners across the world'. The Liverpool-based business' adjusted earnings are set to have risen by around 19% for the year as a result. It also told investors that recent positive sales momentum means it expects to beat current revenue expectations for the new financial year, of around £112.4 million. The company said: 'The board remains confident that the group's core strengths, including its B2B-focused business model, breadth of high-quality products and industry leading new product development, will continue to drive sustained revenue growth and strong profitability over the long-term.' It also reported that its net cash level is running ahead of expectations. Thomas Ryder, chief executive of Applied Nutrition, said: 'We are proud to report that we have exceeded the guidance we gave at our IPO, with our first full-year results expected to come in ahead of market expectations. 'Our focus and ambition remain as strong as ever – in delivering for our shareholders, customers and team – and we are excited about the opportunities we have in the pipeline for the year ahead.' Shares in the company rose by 7.5% on Tuesday morning.
The Guardian
29 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Lidl close to overtaking Morrisons as UK's fifth-biggest supermarket
Lidl is close to overtaking Morrisons to become the UK's fifth biggest supermarket chain after a sales rise as shoppers attempted to offset higher household bills with cheap groceries. The German-owned discounter increased sales by 10.7% in the three months to 11 August, according to the latest market share data from analysts at Worldpanel, formerly known as Kantar. This was more than double the pace of the wider market, which rose 4.5%. That put Lidl's share of the grocery market at 8.3%, 0.1 percentage points off Morrisons' share of 8.4%, as the Bradford-based chain continued to struggle with sales up just 0.9%. Morrisons is trying to turn around performance after building up debts in a £7bn takeover by the US private equity group Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in 2021. Tesco, the UK's biggest supermarket chain , notched up sales growth of 7.4%, taking its market share to 28.4%, well ahead of any rival. Its closest competitor, Sainsbury's, increased sales by 5.2%, taking its market share to 15%. The UK's number three chain, Asda, also continues to have difficulties. Its sales were down 2.6% despite efforts to turn around performance after the return of its former boss, Allan Leighton, as chair. Asda is in danger of being overtaken by discounter Aldi, which is just one percentage point behind it with a market share of 10.8%. Aldi's sales grew 4.8% in the past three months. Aldi and Lidl continue to rapidly open stores, putting them on track to enter the top tier of British supermarkets and disrupt the traditional 'big four'. Asda and Morrisons' growth is behind the 5% level of grocery inflation registered in August by Worldpanel, suggesting the amount of items they sold has dropped. Worldpanel said inflation had eased 0.2 percentage points in August from the 5.2% rate registered in July as prices of dog food, sweets and sparkling wine, including champagne, fell back. Fraser McKevitt, the head of retail and consumer insight at Worldpanel, said: 'We've seen a marginal drop in grocery price inflation this month, but we're still well past the point at which price rises really start to bite and consumers are continuing to adapt their behaviour to make ends meet. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion 'What people pay for their supermarket shopping often impacts their spending across other parts of the high street too, including their eating and drinking habits out of the home.' He said casual dining and fast food restaurants had recorded a particular decline in visitors over the summer, and such trips had fallen by 6% during the three months to mid-July 2025 compared with last year. However, coffee shops bucked the trend as their sales continued to rise. While cutting back on dining out, households appeared more prepared to treat themselves at home. Sales of branded goods were up 6.1%, growing faster than own-label alternatives, which rose 4.1%, a turnaround from earlier in the year. Premium own-label goods, such as Sainsbury's Taste the Difference or Tesco's Finest ranges, were also up strongly – by 11.5%. While still relatively high, the potential peak in inflation could be good news for the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, as she weighs spending cuts or tax rises in her autumn budget.
BBC News
29 minutes ago
- BBC News
Extending car restrictions to Rochester High Street a "no-brainer"
Expanding restrictions on vehicles in a Kent high street has been labelled a "no-brainer" for pedestrian safety, despite claims it is a "money-making" Council is consulting on an extension to the existing no vehicle restriction in Rochester, which is currently in place every Saturday, to include Sundays and bank holidays between 10:00 and 16: proposals include the introduction of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras at Blue Boar Lane, Crow Lane and Boley business owners have welcomed the expansion, while others are concerned that an increase in fines could hit trade and put off visitors. Hannah Knowlton, co-owner of Analogue Music, said she was in favour of the extension, said the Local Democracy Reporting said: "I think it's good for business that the street's pedestrianised, but we still are getting a lot of cars coming down the street, which can be a little bit problematic."So it's a good idea, but I think the road needs to be physically blocked for it to work properly and while there's possibly an element of money-making, it's the trade-off for safety."Stuart Thomas Kemp, director and tutor at The Wooden Mouse School Of French Polishing, is concerned about fines being wrongly cited one example where both he and a customer were ticketed despite their cars being on the high street at 09:30, with boots open and hazard lights Kemp said: "We knew we had to be off the high street by 10am, but we still got tickets. "If they're extending it from Saturday, is it going to basically go against us when customers are dropping off or picking up their furniture?" Alex Paterson, Medway Council's portfolio holder for community safety, highways and enforcement, said those who did not break the rules had nothing to said: "If you don't drive down Rochester High Street between 10am and 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays without authorisation to do so, you won't have a fine."It is a "no-brainer" to extend the "effective pedestrian zone" already in place on Saturdays, Mr Paterson ANPR cameras would also be used to enforce no right or left turn restrictions on to the High Street when coming from the Boley Hill direction, said the said any income generated through penalty charge notices would be used to cover the setup costs and be reinvested into the area's transport consultation runs until 21 September.
