A senior Cheshire East councillor has resigned over an aborted deal on a recycling centre project that cost taxpayers £800,000.

Construction on the Lyme Green recycling centre in Cheshire began on 24 October, but a planning application was not submitted until 16 November, after which plans for the site were shelved.

Cheshire East Council's Cabinet Member Rod Menlove, responsible for the council’s environment portfolio has now stepped down in the wake of a scathing investigator’s report into the project, saying that his resignation was the “only honourable course of action".

In a statement, Menlove outlined that his decision came after “a great deal of soul searching” and lambasted the “gathering issues” regarding the potential waste transfer station.

‘Only honourable course of action’

He said: “I am not an operational officer. I am a Cabinet member with a portfolio that, as people are well aware, is significantly larger that some of the other areas… I work on the basis that officers discuss issues with me, we agree a course of action and I then trust the officer to follow due procedure and process in carrying out the action.

“All decisions I make are for the good of the taxpayer, and are done so using the information that I get from officers. I expect to be given all information and issues, no matter how unpalatable, so that together we can agree a course of action.

“However, as I have consistently stated, at no time was I informed of the gathering issues regarding the potential waste transfer station.

“I cannot though, in all conscience, ignore the fact this situation arose on my watch.

“Hindsight is a wonderful thing and had I been party to such information in relation to Lyme Green in a timely fashion, undoubtedly such conversations would have taken place which may have resulted in a different outcome.

“As it is, it did happen whilst I was responsible for that area and I find that the only honourable course of action for me to take is to step down.”

Two council workers are also set to be disciplined over the issue.

Council Leader Michael Jones said: “Rod should be recognised as a true champion of change... I wholeheartedly thank him for his time his unstinting efforts and the energy he has brought to the role.

“It is with great regret that I accept his resignation but I look forward to using his vast knowledge and experience in the future.”

‘Sweeping changes’

Although the investigator’s report into the aborted Lyme Green scheme is confidential, the council is set to ‘shortly’ publish a paper that is hoped will ‘provide the transparency that local people want about the causes of the Lyme Green project’s failure’, and outline actions scheduled for ‘more effective management of such important projects in future’.

Council Leader Michael Jones has now asked interim Chief Executive Kim Ryley to bring forward ‘proposals for sweeping changes to the council’s current management arrangements’ to ‘cure’ these failings and restore public confidence in the council.

Jones said: “Lyme Green has exposed serious weaknesses in our organisational culture, which are a product of the separate professional silos in our current management structure. These have caused confusion and inefficiency and have led to poor decisions by some senior staff, because it was not clear who had authority to act and who was ultimately accountable for the success or failure of the Lyme Green development project.

“The lack of proper communication between different council services, together with uncertain lines of reporting up the management hierarchy, has led to poor management of the risks involved. As a result, public confidence in the council has been dented and we must act swiftly to restore this.

“To cure these failings quickly, I asked our interim Chief Executive, Kim Ryley, to bring forward proposals for sweeping changes to the council’s current management arrangements. These are designed to make us more effective in the future, by reducing management costs and overheads, whilst improving service performance accountability for outcomes. This will give the public better value for money.”

‘Complete review of management roles’

Ryley added that these proposals include breaking down ‘outdated’ professional silos, so that the council works ‘as a single team, with greater clarity over shared objectives and the desired outcomes’ and a ‘thorough and complete review of management roles and responsibilities at all levels’.

He said: “The revised management arrangements will reduce the numbers of tiers of management, and will increase spans of responsibility to reduce the overall number of management posts by at least a quarter.

“As well as reducing costs to protect frontline jobs and services, the proposed changes will clarify managers’ personal accountabilities and change working methods to strengthen integrated team effort and solutions across the organisation as a whole, so that everyone involved is clear of their role and responsibilities.

“The new structure will separate those whose job it is to design and purchase services for local people from those who are responsible for delivering services to them. It will bring together related functions and types of expertise to provide a more seamless, joined up approach to our wide range of activities. This will also have the benefit of making it easier for our local partners in the Police, Health, and Fire and Rescue Services – as well as for the public – to do business with us in the future.”

If the proposals are agreed by councillors, the first phase of the new structure is expected to be in place by Easter with the full management review concluded by the summer.