Looking to build on success

11:17am Saturday 8th September 2007

Comments (0)   Have your say »

IN RECENT years, Basingstoke and Deane has made great strides forward - and the new chief executive at the borough council is now looking forward to helping it achieve its full potential.

Tony Curtis, who took up the top post at the start of this month, is excited by the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

It’s about supporting the councillors in what I think is a shared ambition to maximise opportunities for the borough

Tony Curtis

"There's this huge opportunity to increase our prosperity, which will benefit everybody in Basingstoke and Deane," Mr Curtis told The Gazette.

After stepping up from deputy chief executive, Mr Curtis now leads some 650 borough council workers who support councillors in managing a £90million turnover, including £6.2million of council tax money.

For Mr Curtis, 54, taking up the chief executive role is the pinnacle of a career which started in London, where he was born and brought up.

He attended Harrow County School for Boys at the same time as television host Clive Anderson and former Defence Secretary Michael Portillo, before reading geography and sociology at Birmingham University.

After starting his career as a town planner in the London Borough of Brent, Mr Curtis moved to Watford. A stint in Horsham, West Sussex, followed before Mr Curtis arrived at Basingstoke and Deane in early 1999 as director of planning.

Keen football fan Mr Curtis - he's a Reading season-ticket holder - lives with his wife Julie and their three teenage children in Hatch Warren, and he and his family have had plenty of first-hand experience of what Basingstoke and Deane has to offer.

Focusing on education, he said: "As a family, we have been really impressed by the quality of teaching and the dedication of staff in the schools and colleges the children have attended.

"On a personal note, having been a governor at Aldworth Science College for six years, I can confidently say that there is a huge amount of good work taking place in our schools, sometimes in challenging circumstances."

Referring to how he sees the borough authority shaping up for the future, Mr Curtis said: "I am keen that the whole organisation has a focus on customer service, being positive and vibrant, with a can-do attitude.

"It's about supporting the councillors in what I think is a shared ambition to maximise opportunities for the borough."

Mr Curtis said the council will continue pursuing a restructuring programme to improve its efficiency. He added: "The restructure will ensure that we can deliver the councillors' priorities in the most efficient and effective way.

"Ultimately, it will deliver ongoing savings of £1million on our staff budgets."

Basingstoke has been designated as one of eight diamonds for growth' by the South East England Development Agency - and Mr Curtis believes this bodes well for the short and long-term.

"This should mean there's more investment in the borough in terms of funding for infrastructure, more interest in business moving to the borough and more opportunities to regenerate our older areas," said Mr Curtis.

In the last few years, there have been significant signs of progress in the town and borough - the latest of which was the news that Primark is to take over the former Allders anchor store site in The Malls.

Mr Curtis praised the work of council officers in bringing the Primark deal to fruition - one that he believes will pay dividends by attracting more people and other retailers to the town.

Despite cause for much optimism, it is certainly not all rosy in the garden, and the new chief executive warned that Basingstoke's infrastructure needs improvement if it is to move forward.

He said: "One of my jobs will be supporting the councillors in lobbying national and regional government for more investment in Basingstoke and Deane, and that investment has to be in transport, water, sewerage, health and education. They are key areas."

And with 5,000 people on the housing waiting list, Mr Curtis said the council has to ensure housing development meets the needs of all inhabitants.

"That means a balance of small, medium and larger houses, with a good proportion being affordable," he explained.

Mr Curtis believes the borough needs to have a good mix of businesses to provide balanced employment and the council has to use its property portfolio - the third largest of any council in Britain - to supply the right premises for existing and potential investors in the town.

And he is certain that further progressive partnership working between the borough council and other organisations is crucial if Basingstoke and Deane is to continue to thrive.

"Increasingly, the council acts as facilitator or enabler and works in partnership with others to address priority needs and deliver services. We are increasingly developing strong partnerships with a wide range of organisations, from major businesses to the voluntary sector."

So, as he looks ahead, how will Mr Curtis ultimately judge whether he has succeeded as chief executive in helping the borough authority to progress?

"We want to be the best council in the country," he said. "That's a reasonable ambition. It's achievable."