The
embattled chief executive of Kensington and Chelsea Council, has
resigned after the company was slammed over their response to the
Grenfell Tower inferno which razed a London residential building.
Chief executive of Kensington and Chelsea council, Nicholas Holgate
The chief executive of Kensington and Chelsea council, Nicholas
Holgate, has resigned after being asked to do so by the communities
secretary, Sajid Javid. In a statement Holgate said that Javid “required the leader of the council to seek my resignation”.
His resignation comes after a tide of criticism of the council, not
only for the way it responded to the Grenfell Tower tragedy but also
for historical neglect of poorer residents of the borough and a neglect
of social housing.
Holgate said: “Serving the families so desperately affected by
the heartbreaking tragedy at Grenfell Tower remains the highest priority
of the council. Despite my wish to have continued, in very challenging
circumstances, to lead on the executive responsibilities of the council,
I have decided that it is better to step down from my role, once an
appropriate successor has been appointed.
He added: “Success in our efforts requires leadership across
London that sustains the confidence and support of central government.
There is a huge amount still to do for the victims of the fire,
requiring the full attention of this council and many others. If I
stayed in post, my presence would be a distraction.”
Council leader Nicholas Paget-Brown said: “It is with great
regret that I have today accepted Nicholas Holgate’s resignation. Like
everyone else, the council has been grief-stricken by the tragedy of the
Grenfell Tower fire and has sought to provide the greatest level of
support we can to victims. That is a huge challenge and Nicholas has led
from the front in seeking to do this. However, the council will now
need to work in a new way with different partners to take this forward.”
It is understood that the Department for Communities and Local
Government decided several days ago that John Barradell, the chief
executive of the City of London council, should take over from Holgate
at the recovery command for the Grenfell Tower operation because of
concerns about the council’s failure to adequately manage the fire
recovery operation.
Residents affected by the fire gave a cautious welcome to the news
of Holgate’s resignation. One resident who has lost many people close to
her in the fire and who asked not to be named, said: “We welcome
the government intervention but we want to see all levels of the council
held to account. We need resignations from those responsible for
planning.
“We need dignity for the victims and real respect for those who
live in social housing. We won’t feel justice has been done until there
is a complete criminal investigation and we know who is truly
responsible for the disaster. We should see those responsible imprisoned
just like we witnessed entire families imprisoned in the fire.”
A graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge, Holgate has worked in
local government since 2008 when he joined Kensington and Chelsea as
executive director for finance, information systems and property. He has
also served for 11 months as interim joint chief executive of
Kensington and Chelsea and Hammersmith and Fulham.
A career public servant, he started out as an administration
trainee at the Treasury in 1984. He was director of welfare reform
between 2001 and 2004 and then chief operating officer at the Department
for Culture, Media and Sport until 2008.
-Guardian UK
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