Chorley Council and South Ribble Borough Council appoint shared chief executive

Chris Sinnott has been promoted to chief executive of both Chorley Council and South Ribble Borough Council.

He has served as deputy chief executive of both authorities since 2019, and will succeed incumbent Gary Hall in January 2023.

The appointment, now approved by both councils, follows a rigorous internal recruitment process involving elected members, stakeholders, partners and staff.

Chris began his career at Denbighshire County Council as a graduate trainee on the National Graduate Development Programme and gained further experience at Blackpool Council before joining Chorley Council in 2010.

As deputy chief executive he has led the expansion of the shared services relationship between the two councils so that it now encompasses nearly half the workforce – saving the councils more than £1m per year between them while also improving service delivery. He also leads on partnership working for the councils, supporting public services to improve and work together for the benefit of residents.

Chris said: "It’s my passionate belief that local government and wider public services can massively improve people’s lives, so I’m looking forward to working with everyone to ensure that both councils are able to deliver the very best services for residents.”

Gary Hall has been chief executive of Chorley Council for 11 years, and has been chief executive of South Ribble since May 2019, initially on an interim basis before being handed a two-year fixed term contract in January 2021.

He said: "I’m tremendously proud of what both councils have achieved over the last few years, particularly over the course of the pandemic, and as we look to the future it’s important that there’s an element of continuity to build on our successes.

"Chris, like me, is immensely passionate about the role local councils can play in improving people’s lives – particularly in such testing circumstances – and I believe he is the ideal person to take us forward and ensure we continue to deliver the very best services for our residents."