A new deputy chief executive has been appointed at Preston City Council – 15 years after she last worked for the local authority.
Marianne Hesketh has re-joined at Preston Town Hall having been director of communities at neighbouring Wyre Borough Council since 2016.
She will hold the title of number two in the Town Hall as well as being director of community and wellbeing and is the full replacement for Sarah Threlfall who left to become chief executive of Ribble Valley Borough Council in December last year.
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Marianne worked for the city council as head of policy until 2011 when she left to join Wyre Borough as head of transformation.
She has also previously worked for Lancashire County Council and now steps into the role which is understood to have a salary bracket of between £85,000-£95,000.
Marianne, who lives in Goosnargh, said: “I’m delighted to be coming back to Preston City Council as the new Deputy Chief Executive. This is an exciting and busy time for local government, and I’m genuinely excited about building on the excellent work already delivered by both the Council and the Community and Wellbeing Directorate.
“It’s an honour to serve the residents and businesses of Preston, and I look forward to contributing further to the positive impact the Council continues to make. My career has been dedicated to public service and delivering high-quality, community-focused services, and I can’t wait to get started.”
Interim director Jane Meek had been brought in since January to partially cover the brief left by Threlfall. Meek is due to leave Preston on 1 August.
Chief executive of the city council, Adrian Phillips, said: “We are delighted to welcome Marianne back to Preston City Council and look forward to working with her to drive forward and deliver many ambitious projects to improve the lives of our city’s communities.”
Hesketh joins as the district council awaits to discover its fate in the upcoming local government reorganisation which is due to see lower-tier authorities and Lancashire County Council abolished and replaced by new ‘super councils’ called unitaries which would operate from 2028. Preston City Council’s preference is to be grouped with Lancaster and Ribble Valley in a ‘Northern Lancashire’ authority.
