This year has not been a good one for officer retention at Rochford District Council would probably be an understatement. In recent times we learnt that the Assistant Director of Planning and Regeneration Services was to leave the Council and now onlineFOCUS has learnt that the Planning Policy and Economic Development Team Leader is also leaving.
It’s undeniable that Planning has undoubtedly taken a hit with these ‘key’ staff leaving, which is why perhaps it is in a state of disarray. There is still no tangible progress on the plan for Travellers sites in the District and we still haven’t much of the core strategy come to any fruition.
That is just one department, we also know that other ‘key’ staff leaving, has delayed the much delayed and over budget ICT migration and public service has suffered at the hands of the untrained and unskilled in this department, with prolonged outages in all key areas of the Council. How much more will residents soak up?
Like a sinking ship, how much more ‘water’ will the Conservative-controlled Council be able to take onboard? What does the future hold for a Council that is struggling to keep its head above water?
With a lot of unanswered questions and the infighting in the Conservative party, like Brexit, we fear that they may not even have a workable plan for the future in our district.
Our advice – hold on to anything that floats!