THURROCK Council's outgoing director of place has left his role at the council and has taken to social media touting for work!

Andy Millard, who was tasked with completing Thurrock's long-awaited but still unfinished local plan, announced he was leaving his £135,000 a year post in January - one of a number of senior officers to leave the council this year.

As the council's head of planning Mr Millard has been at the heart of local decision-making for many years and when he stepped up to the director of place role in 2019 the local plan was a key part of his agenda, but little progress appears to have been made and the blueprint for the borough's future is not expected until 2023 at the earliest. Work on the project goes back well beyond 2018 when the council produced this interim document.

Mr Millard, who has moved to the south of France, is still keen to keep his hand in at local government level.

Leaving his post yesterday (Friday, 1 October) he issued the following statement on social media: "After 33 years of public service, I have today retired from my full-time role as Director of Place at Thurrock Council.

"Over those years I have been fortunate to have worked with a number of extremely talented individuals, inspiring leaders and highly skilled professionals.

"I can't name check everyone, but you know who you are!

"However, as with everything in life, all good things come to an end.

"Building on the vast amount of experience I have gathered over my career, I am now available for interesting and rewarding short-term advisory roles in the public and private sectors.

"If you have an opportunity that fits the bill, and if you consider that I could add value, then I'd be pleased to hear from you."

The workload of Mr Millard, who previously numbered the botched A13 road-widening scheme and Stanford rail station projects among his portfolio of responsibility, has been shared among a number of other senior officers under a restructuring orchestrated by CEO Lyn Carpenter.

In April, when the restructuring was announced which enabled Mr Millard to concentrate his final months on the local plan, tribute was paid to him in a council statement which read: "Having worked in the planning and regeneration field for over 32 years, most recently in Thurrock and Brentwood and previously in the private sector, Andy has decided to retire and will be leaving the council in September 2021.

"Since joining the council in 2006 as Head of Planning, Strategy and Delivery and in his current role as Director of Place, Andy has been responsible for the delivery of one of the most significant and ambitious regeneration agendas in the country as well as overseeing economic development, project delivery and planning.

"Andy has been an important member of the senior team at Thurrock for more than 14 years and his vision and drive have been critical to the success of many key projects for the borough including introducing Your Place, Your Voice and ensuring two way engagement with residents on place making and to inform the Local Plan."

The council is currently seeking to recruit a new local plan manager, at a salary around the £55 to 65K mark.