Council boss to retire after 10 years

Rob Walsh has been chief executive of North East Lincolnshire Council since January 2014

North East Lincolnshire Council's chief executive has announced he is to take early retirement after more than 10 years in the role.

Rob Walsh is due to leave around the time of the election for a Mayor of Lincolnshire which is due to be held in May.

Mr Walsh, who is from a military family said Cleethorpes hosting National Armed Forces Day in 2016 had been a "true highlight" of his time in the position.

"There is no greater honour than being chief executive in the place you are proud to call home and where your family has grown", he said.

Mr Walsh has worked in local government for more than three decades, starting as a trainee solicitor when he joined the then Cleethorpes Borough Council.

During his time as chief executive, North East Lincolnshire Council became one of the first in the country to secure a Town Deal from the government which led to a multimillion-pound regeneration scheme in Grimsby.

It also paved the way for a number of other developments including the transformation of the Freshney Place shopping centre in the town.

However, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the cost of the Freshney Place scheme, which includes a new market hall, cinema and other leisure facilities, has risen from £27.3m to nearly £50m.

The council was awarded a £20m Levelling Up Fund grant for the work, but the authority said it would need to reallocate funds from its Green Skills Hub project and seek additional funding to continue the scheme.

An artist's impression of the plans for Grimsby's Freshney Place shopping centre

“It really has been a pleasure to know and work with so many professional, dedicated and wonderful people over the years," said Mr Walsh.

"Together we have strived to take our borough forward, fronting up to the challenges and being ambitious about the opportunities."

Council leader Philip Jackson said Mr Walsh had "put North East Lincolnshire front and centre on the regional and national stage.

“His personal and professional skills have ensured this borough has attracted an unprecedented level of investment which has, and will be, significant in overcoming the challenges and grasping the opportunities we face."

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