Alton Towers boss is new Derbyshire council chief
Theme park boss Neil Crittenden is set to swap rollercoasters for recycling collections after being appointed as Derbyshire County Council’s new chief executive.
Crittenden, currently interim vice president for Alton Towers in Staffordshire, was the resort’s commercial and operations director for ten years prior to taking up the vice president’s role in September.
The announcement follows a decision by Emma Alexander, formerly the authority’s most senior executive, to leave Derbyshire to take up a role at Tameside MBC. The council’s former head of adult care and health, Simon Stevens, had been serving as interim chief executive but also resigned from that role earlier this week.
“I’m delighted to be recommended as the new Chief Executive for Derbyshire County Council, and if my appointment is agreed by Full Council I will very much look forward to taking on this exciting role,” said Neil Crittenden.
“It will be a privilege to work with such a forward-looking Leader, Cabinet and elected members, and I’m particularly looking forward to meeting and working with great colleagues across the council and doing my best for the residents of Derbyshire.”
In a statement, Derbyshire County Council said Crittenden’s skillset, which includes oversight of multi-million-pound budgets, complex service delivery and high-profile projects, will “translate directly into delivering high-quality services for residents and communities.”
“With many years of executive leadership experience, Neil has a proven track record in driving organisational transformation and managing large-scale operations,” added council Leader Cllr Alan Graves.
The appointment is subject to formal approval by full council on 10 December.
Welcome to Derbyshire.
You have joined us at a critical moment when 8 of our care homes face closure and the future of our new state of the art Ada Belfield faces an uncertain future.The Ada Belfield Centre was designed to provide both residential placements and community support beds with the latter ensuring a better transition from hospital to home. They also take considerable pressure off hospital trusts as the struggle to provide beds for acute care.
All too often we see a boomerang effect of vulnerable/end of life patients facing a revolving door between home and hospital with a negative effect on both their health and acute provision.
At the moment some 350 patients occupy hospital beds to the tune of £148m per annum.
Moreover there is government funding of £3bn available nationally to develop adult social care.
I considering it essential for DCC to consult with DCHS,hospital trusts and social services as well and the general public to look at a sustainable plan for the future which benefits adult social care and acute provision.
By Michael Jones