THE CHIEF executive of Thurrock Council, Graham Farrant is set to quit.
Mr Farrant has been the chief executive of Thurrock Council since August 2010.
THURROCK Council chief executive Graham Farrant has announced he is to leave after nearly five years at the authority.
Graham joined Thurrock in August 2010, returning to public service from the private sector. He had previously been chief executive of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a role he returned to when Thurrock and Barking agreed to share his services.
He took over from interim Bob Coomber and has steered the council through a time which has seen it reabsorb its planning functions from the development corporation, bring Public Health into the heart of the council, lead what he describes as “the most exciting regeneration and growth agenda in the country”, and successfully deal with multi-million pound reductions in funding.
Graham has been appointed chief executive of the Land Registry.
He said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Thurrock, but it is now time for a new challenge.
“Thurrock is a far more stable and forward-thinking council and place than it was in 2010 and I owe a huge debt of thanks to everybody here for supporting and implementing the changes that have brought us to where we are now.”
Thurrock Council Leader, Cllr John Kent, said: “Graham has been chief executive here nearly as long as I have been leader – I have a couple of months on him.
“I want to thank him for the way he has helped us through some of the most difficult times local authorities have ever faced and provided stability at the top after a very unstable few years – a time which saw six chief executives in four years, five monitoring officers in the same time, and numerous financial chiefs let alone uncountable interim this and interim that.
“The past four-and-a-half years have seen Thurrock move forward with improvements in education, in job creation, and in the arts – all areas where Graham has played an integral and often behind-the-scene role.
“Our responsibility now is to maintain that progress and build on it.”
