Advantageously located in central England, South Kesteven is recognised as one of the country’s most picturesque districts. The combination of stunning countryside and bustling market towns, all with strong transport links, gives South Kesteven a great advantage as an enviable place to live and work. And it is being noticed, in 2019, Stamford, one of the district’s four market towns, was unanimously voted as being among the best places to live in the UK.
Within the county of Lincolnshire, it is noted for its economic strength. With good standards of education locally and key cities such as Nottingham and Peterborough within easy commute, it is not hard to see why so many people are drawn to the area.
With the recent publication of the district council’s ambitious corporate plan – to make the district the best place to live, work, and visit – South Kesteven is set for an even brighter future.
Despite the challenges of 2020, South Kesteven District Council has a plan which is on course to deliver the most progressive growth agenda for a generation. To unlock the promise and potential of this unique district, the council is looking to grow its leadership team with equally ambitious and talented individuals.
New leadership new plan
This bold new vision for South Kesteven has been developed by a strong new leadership in the organisation. Karen Bradford took up the post of Chief Executive in March, just before the country went into lockdown. She joins Cllr Kelham Cooke, who became Council Leader in September 2019.
Kelham explains: ‘With a foundation of political stability and an ambitious plan in place, there is a great opportunity for individuals who are motivated by delivery and achievement in local government, to join South Kesteven.’
This represents an exceptional prospect for experienced local government leaders to join a fresh and vibrant team. The roles being recruited for are a Deputy Chief Executive, a Director of Growth and Culture, a Director of Housing and Property, a Head of Democratic Services, and a Head of Development and Policy.
Talking about the council’s new corporate plan, Karen says: ‘It provides an agreed clarity of purpose, a route map to make South Kesteven DC both an excellent provider of public services and an even stronger custodian of our communities.’
The new vision focuses on five key priorities. They are:
- Create a self-sufficient finance base through a diverse fiscal approach that includes income generation through commercial activity combined with focus on savings and efficiencies.
- Build a sustainable and dynamic economy that not only recovers from the pandemic but thrives in the future beyond it.
- Develop new homes built to modern standards while complementing the historical character of the district and meeting the needs of all our residents.
- Support healthy and strong communities by investing in leisure and culture, working alongside our voluntary, private, and public sector partners.
- Protecting our environment by enhancing our ample green spaces while seeking to reduce the carbon footprint in everything we do, leading by example to tackle climate change.
We have the vision that is embodied in our plans, now we are looking to restructure the team to match the aspirations of the Council.
Speaking of the Deputy Chief Executive Role, Kelham says, “We are looking for someone who is forward thinking, transformational and motivated. This is a pivotal role, we want someone who is an experienced director that embodies our values of accountability, the ability to work with agility and flexibility and build strong networks both within and outside of our organisation.
Karen agrees, adding “This job is about driving the engine room of the authority with a passion, covering all the core services; IT, HR, communications, finance, legal and democratic services. We need someone who can demonstrate by results that they are operating effectively and running through things smoothly.
We have ensured that the director roles are not only aligned to the authority’s vision, but they are also an amazing opportunity to help develop South Kesteven as a district by building strong relationships within our community and our partners.
Kelham says that there is huge potential for growth in the district. “Having seen significant investment in infrastructure and regarded as a high growth area for housing, coupled with major investment from Homes England and developers, we are the fastest growing economy outside of Lincoln in the county”.
The Director of Housing and Property will lead he Council’s housing delivery and investment strategies and manage the Council’s 6,000 strong housing stock. The successful candidate will also be responsible for managing the Council’s property portfolio in a way that sees these assets contributing to our plan for economic growth and our desire for financial self sufficiency.
The Director of Growth and Culture is a key community role that will be responsible for economic development, growth and regeneration, planning, culture and leisure.
Karen explains, “We have an extensive cultural offer in South Kesteven, with a really strong visitor economy”. The area is home to the headquarters of the Woodland Trust as well as several high-profile heritage homes that attract people to the area.
We have a £20m investment programme being developed for our leisure offer. The new Director of Growth will also be responsible for our economic development team which we have made a commercial company, Invest SK. We are also creating a new commercial venture to insource our leisure services into a new company, Leisure SK. These are exciting times and we are creating structures that give us the flexibility to deliver.
The successful candidate will also be responsible for “building back better” after the COVID-19 pandemic. The authority has already submitted a bid for £8m from the Future High Streets Fund.
Kelham says “In order to realise our ambitions for South Kesteven, it is important that businesses and investors recognise the confidence we hold that we are open for business and we are ready for growth”.
Karen echoes this and says the pandemic has strengthened the “amazing community spirit of South Kesteven and provided them with an opportunity to reinvent their local areas. If anything, people are not commuting as much as they were, they are working more locally, so we need to understand the opportunities that presents our local economy and capitalise on that change”.
The council is actively looking at how they use the centres of their four market towns, such as creating co-working spaces and providing innovative solutions for how people want to live and work in the future.
Kelham concludes: “I have huge ambitions for South Kesteven, it’s a great place with potential but to deliver this, we must be a council capable of transformation with a desire to build a track record of innovation and delivery we can be proud of”.
Having set out a clear and ambitious vision for South Kesteven, the Leader and Chief Executive now need the right people to help them deliver.
