'Proud Prestonian' gets senior role at city council

Preston City Council has appointed a new deputy chief executive who is returning to the town hall after 15 years working at another Lancashire authority.

Marianne Hesketh - who will also be the director of community and wellbeing - was head of policy at Preston when she left to join Wyre Coucil back in 2011.

The Goosnargh resident - who has more than 30 years’ experience in local government - is described by the city authority as a ‘proud Prestonian’. She has spent the last decade as director of communities at Wyre, having first joined as head of transformation.

Speaking of her move back to her home council as second in command, she said: “I’m delighted to be coming back to Preston City Council as the new deputy chief executive. This is an exciting and busy time for local government and I’m genuinely excited about building on the excellent work already delivered by both the council and the community and wellbeing directorate.

“It’s an honour to serve the residents and businesses of Preston - and I look forward to contributing further to the positive impact the council continues to make. My career has been dedicated to public service and delivering high quality, community focused services and I can’t wait to get started.”

Adrian Phillips, chief executive of Preston City Council, added: “We are delighted to welcome Marianne back and look forward to working with her to drive forward and deliver many ambitious projects to improve the lives of our city’s communities.”

Ms Hesketh will take up her roles from 1st August.