Sir Bob's wrench to leave Sheffield
SIR Bob Kerslake told today how the decision to leave Sheffield Council to head the Government's new housing agency has been a "tremendous wrench".
The 52-year-old is stepping down from the role of chief executive after 10 years during which the city has been transformed from the dark days of industrial decline.
Now, new development is taking place across the city and, in recent years, only two places in the UK - Bristol and Manchester - have enjoyed more business growth.
After announcing his decision, Sir Bob said: "It's a tremendous wrench to leave Sheffield. I've loved the job and seen a lot of achievements in the last 10 years.
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"However, I think the opportunities in this new job are huge and the opportunity to work on a national level was very interesting and exciting for me. It was too good an opportunity to miss."
At the Housing and Communities Agency, where Sir Bob will be one of the highest paid civil servants in the UK, he is to be in charge of implementing a 15-year plan to build three million new homes, addressing the national shortage.
However, he said the new agency's remit would mean continued involvement with Sheffield, where there are large-scale plans for more social housing.
Sir Bob views his main success at the helm of Sheffield Council as the city's regeneration.
He said: "Ten years ago, it was a different place, having lost a quarter of its jobs and renewal was still at a very early stage.
"My achievements would be playing my part with others to restore confidence in the city and council. We've seen an economic revival, investment in schools and education services - but it didn't happen through me alone."
He is also proud of how the council is now stable financially, despite the threat of impending multi-million pound budget cuts.
Sir Bob came to Sheffield in 1997 after a spell as chief executive at the London Borough of Hounslow.
He was nighted for services to local government in 2004. He has also received honorary Doctorates from both Sheffield and Hallam Universities.
In 2003, Sir Bob was named in the 100 most influential people in the public sector.
While in charge at Sheffield Council, he has also been on the board of the Department of Communities, the Core Cities Group, served as chair of the Metropolitan Chief Executives' Group, sits on the National Employment Panel and has contributed to the National Equality Review.
He is known at the Town Hall for his dedication to his job, sometimes arriving for work as early as 6.30am.
Sir Bob is married with children.
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Sir Bob added that he has been “genuinely moved” by the reaction of people in Sheffield to news of his departure.
Sheffield Council leader Coun Jan Wilson, who has worked with Sir Bob for all of her years in charge at the Town Hall, said she was “extremely pleased” for him.
She added: “When I was wishing him well, I said I’d be at the front of the queue knocking on his door to promote Sheffield’s interests.”
Coun Wilson said: “His achievement has been creating a management team that has worked with the council’s leadership in delivering a lot of priorities taking the city from the days of the Full Monty to what we see today.
“Together, we are moving Sheffield in the right direction.”
Coun Wilson credited Sir Bob with not only securing huge amounts of Government investment, such as the 700 million Decent Homes council house upgrade programme and hundreds of millions of cash to rebuild schools, but also bringing in 7 of private sector investment for every 1 of taxpayers’ money spent regenerating the city centre.
The economy is now worth 7 billion a year, with 5,000 new jobs created annually, while a total of 800 million will have been invested in the city centre between 2006 and 2010.
Sir Bob’s success in Sheffield is understood to have led to him receiving numerous job offers in recent years - and Coun Wilson said the city was “lucky” to have retained his services for so long.
She added that on a personal level, he was a “very nice man” and that it has been a “great pleasure to work with him”.
Warm tributes have been paid by the business community.
Helen Rana, policy representation manager at Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, said: “Sir Bob has been excellent and we have had a really fantastic partnership. He’s definitely been good for business. Sir Bob has led the city through a period of renewal and is leaving it a much stronger place than he found it.”
n Visit thestar.co.uk/jury for the views of our reader's panel about Sir Bob's ten years in charge.
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Friday 10 February 2012
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