Newbury Town Council CEO Hugh Peacocke stepping down after eight-and-a-half years in charge

Newbury Town Council is looking for a new CEO to take over its operation after the current one is stepping down for family reasons.

Hugh Peacocke, 67, has served the town council for eight-and-a-half years and will be finishing his stint in charge at the end of this year.

Mr Peacocke and his wife Rebecca will be moving to Worcester – where Mrs Peacocke is from – to spend more time with their two grandchildren and her parents.

Mr Peacocke said: “I just want to say to all the officers and members and partners that I worked with in Newbury, I thank every one of you very much for the support and respect that you’ve always shown me.

“It’s been a real privilege to work with such a progressive council.”

He said he was particularly proud of guiding the town council through its dispute with Costain Limited in 2015 shortly after he arrived in Newbury.

The developer agreed to pay Newbury Town Council £600,000 towards repairing Victoria Park which appeared to sink after it built the Parkway Shopping centre nearby.

He was also happy to have helped the town council stay on track to achieve its objective of becoming carbon neutral by 2030, and assisting the council to give out £120,000 a year to local organisations to help their operation.

A job listing for the soon-to-be vacant CEO role has been posted on the Newbury Town Council website.

The council is seeking “an innovative, forward thinking, and proactive CEO to take over from the current highly respected outgoing officer and continue to drive the council forwards”.

The closing date for applications is Sunday, December 17, and it is hoped that the new CEO will commence their role on or around April 2 next year.

A locum officer will take over in the meantime.