Cheshire East Council’s director of highways is to leave his role for a new position in the East Midlands.
Tom Moody, who was Director of Infrastructure and Highways at Cheshire East since 2022, is joining the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) as Director of Transport.
Mr Moody reported to the Executive Director of Place, but that position has also been vacant since early December.
Now Mr Moody’s departure sees the latest senior officer at Cheshire East quit the authority, which has been without Chief Executive Rob Polkinghorne for several weeks due to illness.
Peter Skates, director of growth and enterprise at Cheshire East Council, said: “We thank Tom for his valuable contribution since he joined the council, which includes his leadership on the local transport plan – a key strategic document for the authority – and the securing of Department for Transport funding for the Middlewich Eastern Bypass.
“We congratulate Tom on his new role and are very sure he will be equally as successful at EMCCA. We are sure everyone will join in wishing Tom all the very best for the future.”
It comes as the authority is facing backlash over the state of the roads and delays and problems with larger projects.
These include the A51 Reaseheath Bypass which is still not open despite originally planned for 2022, and the A530 Baddington Bridge dispute which has resulted in heavy good vehicles being banned from using it.
There were also issues over the A500 Shavington Bypass surface dressing last year, which resulted in multiple claims from drivers of damage to vehicles.
The council was forced to carry out a second surface dressing as well as re-instating of yellow bump strips on the approach to roundabouts which many said were originally too high.
More criticism was aimed at the highways department this month over it’s gritting strategy during the recent snow and ice.
To blame one person for the result of decades of under investment in our roads is just bizarre.
Instead ask your MP why 97% of the tax you pay to use our roads is diverted away from maintaining them. Also ask them why they expect your council tax to replace the money they have taken?
But if you keep blaming councils for our road quality, then our MP’s will just keep short-changing you.
Keith could you re-write that in English please
As a former Cheshire County Council employee and then Cheshire East Council I Dan tell these people are over paid and the have skin in the game they have pride about the county how it looks and function I would happy come back and fight to improve Cheshire and Cheshire East for 65k a year these director and senior managers are over paid . The average worker in local govewho comes in and keeps things running is low paid with a poor public pension. It is these individuals on the Salisbury scale and above that havevthe fantastic prndion and contracts with golden umbrella clauses. They don’t care about how our county looks what it’s like to drive through. Those who care and fight for the peoples and respect the public purse are removed or sided lined as trouble makers because the point out what wrong and what’s need to fix it and generally it the removal of the senorita manager who are in it firvthe money
Rats leaving a sinking ship comes to mind but it also shows how corrupt our local govt is. They fail up They fail 8n there role in one local authority so they jump to the next with a higher salary and keep doing it until they retire with a jeslth public sector prnsion these are tge prople with the gold plated pensions not the average worker. These people don’t care about the local authority they work in . They have no commitment to see improvement they are doing it for personal gain nothing else there is no civic pride in theee people or the want to see the area do better. It’s shameful and it’s time we changed and recruited people who care
From what I saw of Tom Moody he came across as quite a decent and capable officer and he will be a loss to CEC.
Cowboy
So he was best man for the job in the East Midlands? God help them! Or do they just want a yes man who doesn’t do his job but saves the money to be spent elsewhere? Mmmm I wonder?
Typical…… Now its not his problem, new chap will have 2 years before he is accountable for anything.
I think we should have a slider where the council tax payers vote and decide where between 40k and 100k they get paid.