Taking the lead

摘要

I joined Cheshire East Council as chief executive in August 2013 from a London borough where I was an executive director. If you think leafy Cheshire must be a much less challenging place to work than inner London, you couldn't be more wrong. In March last year, AstraZeneca announced it would cut 550 jobs from its research site at Alderley Park near Macclesfield and move another 1,600 to a new global R&D centre and corporate headquarters in Cambridge. The consequences could have been devastating. The average salary at the site was £52,500 compared with an average of £27,600 in Cheshire East as a whole. One estimate predicted a drop in house prices of up to 30% in the surrounding area. Cllr Michael Jones, our leader, was adamant from the outset that the prophets of doom must be proved wrong. To do this, it was essential for the council to take a leadership role in preserving as much as possible of Alderley Park's capability as a life science and biotechnology campus, working in partnership with central government, Manchester City Council and other stakeholders.