THE managing director of Worcester City Council is quitting after five years in charge, it has emerged.

The authority has announced that Duncan Sharkey will leave in May after finding a new role as a director at Milton Keynes Council.

The £105,824 a-year boss has had to oversee a staggering 51 per cent reduction in central Government funding since joining the city council and has delivered £4.5 million of savings under huge pressure.

The Conservative leadership today paid tribute to his work, with surveys showing public satisfaction up 23 points to 68 per cent and 'value for money' up from 36 per cent to 54 per cent since 2010.

During his time in charge the council has had to rapidly shrink in size, and now employs around 310 full-time equivalent staff compared to around 425 when he took over, with the wage bill tumbling from £18 million to £9 million annually.

He has also been around during a time of unprecedented private sector investment into both Worcester and Worcestershire, which has topped £600 million in the last three years alone.

The creation of the Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), the opening of the £60 million Hive in 2012 and University Arena are some of the other notable changes during his time in the city.

The 43-year-old saw two political switches to the council's administration, firstly from the Conservatives to Labour in 2013 in a shock coup with Lib Dem and Green backing, and then back to the Tories last year when the party secured the support of newly-independent Councillor Alan Amos.

Your Worcester News understands Mr Sharkey wants to stay on until the end of May, partly because he is keen to be around if any crunch negotiations are needed over power-sharing.

His final weeks in office will also include being the returning officer for the local elections.

Today he paid his own heartfelt tribute to staff, saying they have "unparalleled" passion for the city.

"It has been an honour and a privilege to lead Worcester City Council," he said.

"The passion all our staff have for Worcester is unparalleled, and the many things we have achieved in the last five years are down to their hard work and commitment.

"I know that they will always do their best for this fantastic city."

Councillor Simon Geraghty, city council leader, said: “I would like to thank Duncan for all his hard work with members to shape the future of the city and the council’s services."

Labour group leader Councillor Adrian Gregson said, who was leader of the council for 12 months until last June, said: "He's taken the city on leaps and bounds because of his ability to understand the nuances of the political landscape and work with everyone.

"He knew what they want and knew what we wanted and was able to work with both sides.

"Chief executives or managing directors are not like politicians, it's their career, a question of employment and he's looked outside the immediate political boundaries in supporting the city and giving absolutely everything to it.

"He did a very good job for Worcester and has put things into place which will benefit the city a lot in the future.

"The job at Milton Keynes is a good opportunity, a different opportunity for him and I wish him every success both there and for the rest of his career."

Veteran Lib Dem Councillor Liz Smith said: "I am sad, he'd been a very good managing director, he bought new ideas, new ways of working and a much flatter management structure.

"He's done a very good job indeed and I wish him very well."

Councillors will be meeting in the next few weeks to begin work on the recruitment of a new managing director.

Mr Sharkey, a University of Bristol graduate, joined the city council in 2010 after a spell as chief executive at West Lindsey District Council.

Before joining West Lindsey he was director of operational services at Corby Borough Council and previously head of regeneration at Boston Borough Council between 1997 and 2002.

His new role is corporate director for 'place' in Milton Keynes, where he will be responsible for further transforming one of Britain's fastest-growing large towns, with a population more than double Worcester's at 229,000.

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