Arun District Council's chief executive is leaving

James Hassett joined the council as interim CEO in October 2021, taking over from Nigel Lynn.

His role was made permanent three months later.

Leader of the council Shaun Gunner said: “Under James we have begun our transition to becoming a more modern, more responsive and more ambitious organisation in lots of ways.

“It remains my view that he was the right man for the job, and the right person to move Arun forwards.

“Although I understand his reasons, I am sad to see James leave.”

Dr James Walsh, leader of the opposition, said Mr Hassett’s resignation had been ‘a complete shock’.

He added: “He’s only been with us for a relatively short time and had exciting proposals for a real cultural change at the council which are now in doubt.

“Personally, I’m very sorry to see him go because I think he was beginning to drag the council into the 21st century.”

While Dr Walsh didn’t know exactly why the CEO had quit, he shut down rumours that it had been because of the goings-on at a meeting of the full council on Wednesday (March 1).

That meeting saw Mr Gunner attempt to withdraw the proposed budget and council tax for 2023/24 after an amendment to freeze council tax was approved.

Mr Hassett stepped in to appeal for patience as neither he, the legal team nor the Section 151 officer had ever come across such a situation before.

That meeting was adjourned until Thursday (March 9) and Mr Hassett will then have two months to prepare for his role as monitoring officer at the May elections.

In the meantime, the council faces the task of finding his replacement.

Mr Gunner added: “Both elected members and officers share the same goal and are committed to providing quality services in our district and will continue the work that we are doing to make Arun a better place to live work and visit.

“We ask that you bear with us as we navigate the coming weeks and months.”