Meet the new chief (From Bromsgrove Advertiser)

Meet the new chief

10:12am Wednesday 4th April 2007 in Features By Pete Lammas

TWO burning ambitions are occupying the mind of the newly-appointed man in the hot seat at Bromsgrove Council House.

The first is to make Bromsgrove a better, more pleasant town in which to live, work and visit. The other, more personal and perhaps more easily attained, is to pass his motorbike test.

But a few minutes in the company of Kevin Dicks leaves one with little doubt that this determined and ambitious new chief executive will achieve both goals and others he has set himself.

Kevin, at the age of 38, is thought to be the youngest council chief in England. Following a rigorous selection process he was picked for the top job, with its £93,000 a year salary, after serving a spell as acting chief executive since the sudden departure of Sue Nixon last year.

Kevin hopes his appointment will bring stability to the ranks of senior officers at Bromsgrove District Council, which has seen many changes in recent years.

Born in Leicestershire, Kevin began his career in local government as an accountant at Wychavon Council, where incidentally his wife Elaine works and which he says adds a bit of competitive spice to conversation around the dinner table.

“I see my role as serving the people of Bromsgrove to make the council more open and accessible and wherever possible to explain a particular course of action."

Bromsgrove District Council's new chief executive Kevin Dicks

Then followed 11 years at Stratford Council as chief accountant before he left to join Malvern Hills District Council as financial services manager. He joined Bromsgrove as corporate director, resources, in June 2004.

This was at a critical time just after the authority had applied to the government for help to extricate itself from the severe problems it found itself saddled with and which affected almost all aspects of service to its customers.

Without being complacent Kevin says there is now an ever growing chink of light at the end of the tunnel, which could get brighter towards the end of the year. But he believes realistically it will be another two or three years before the council can consider itself out of the woods and functioning economically and efficiently.

He realises that the council could not have got this far without the dedication of its staff at all levels and he cannot sing their praises highly enough.

He further believes that the problems he personally has had to solve to help the council improve its position was the spur he himself needed to help him develop, which in turn helped him land the top job.

Now he can concentrate on another major task, which he has put at the top of his priority agenda. That is the regeneration of Bromsgrove town centre.

Much is still to be done, but preliminary work is well underway, including the search for a suitable developer/partner to carry out and help finance the scheme.

However, Kevin is adamant that Bromsgrove will not become just another anonymous, soulless town with its heart ripped out in the name of commercialisation.

Something else which some past council chiefs did not always subscribe to is his desire to dispense with red tape and bureaucracy wherever possible and to go out and meet as many people as he can to listen to them and their problems as they relate to Bromsgrove. He was set to meet Finstall parish councillors last night.

"I see my role as serving the people of Bromsgrove to make the council more open and accessible and wherever possible to explain a particular course of action," he said.

Returning to Kevin's two current ambitions. His motorbike, minus its L- plates, is likely to occupy the chief's parking spot at Burcot Lane long before any major new development is seen in the town. But his enthusiasm to see Bromsgrove prosper and thrive into the 21st century is revving up and raring to go.