By Carmelo Garcia – Local Democracy Reporter
Conservative Mark Hawthorne has highlighted the Javelin Park Incinerator and securing the A417 missing link as his proudest achievements as he announces plans to step down as Gloucestershire County Council’s leader.
The Quedgeley division councillor, 49, who has held the top job at Shire Hall for more than 14 years, has announced today (July 24) that he will no longer lead the authority after the council meeting in September.
Politics has dominated the life of the former Cheltenham and Gloucester (C&G) project manager who was first elected to represent Moreland on the County Council in 2009.
The former St Peter’s High School student went on to study politics and economics at Liverpool John Moores University where he was a Young Conservative.
He returned to Gloucester in 1996 and worked at British Telecom for a year at Olympus Park in Quedgeley before moving to C&G in Barnwood where he spent 13 years working from the bottom up until he became a project manager for HR.
Cllr Hawthorne was appointed cabinet member for environment in 2009 by then leader Barry Dare before being elected to lead the authority 12 months later. He had previously served as Gloucester City Council leader between 2004 and 2007.
Cllr Hawthorne said the first inkling he had of possibly becoming County Council leader was when was asked by then Gloucester Citizen editor Ian Mean at a sneak preview event at the Quays ahead of the shopping centre’s official opening in 2009.
“Ian Mean turned round to me and said ‘so you’re going to be the next County Council leader then are you?’
“‘Barry Dare is going around telling everyone you’re going to be the next council leader’.
“I hadn’t even got elected yet. That was the first time I got touted as leader.
“I was brought into the cabinet for environment and then Barry stood down 12 months later in May 2010. There was a contest.
“There were four candidates, me, Ray Theodoulou, Will Windsor-Clive and Kathy Williams. My teller was Cllr Paul Mclain.
“He came out of the room when they counted the votes and he said I hadn’t won. ‘You are one vote short of an overall majority’.
“I needed 22 votes. I got in the next round.”
Cllr Hawthorne said he has faced many challenges during his time as leader but one of his highlights was turning the Javelin Park Incinerator into a financial success for the county.
“There were many challenges,” he said.
“There’s those you inherit. I inherited the incinerator.
“It had been going for five years. Politically, that was very challenging and polarising. It took a lot of work to turn it back around again and get it delivered.
“That dominated the political argument here for the first four years. The thing I used to say to people.
“I represent Quedgeley, those are the people who live nearest to the incinerator, I got re-elected three times there. It wasn’t the political bombshell people thought it was but it was challenging.
“The incinerator with the £24m straight into frontline services this year stopped services in Gloucestershire from being cut. It was a success.
“A lot of people who were opposed to it come up to me now and say they actually think it looks really nice. They weren’t saying that ten years ago.”He said the second issue which was quite challenging was securing the funding and planning permission necessary for the A417 missing link
“National Highways came to us with an idea to try and help the flow of traffic at the roundabout to stop people going down into Cheltenham,” he said.
“That was the moment I sat down and said, this is crazy. We need to have a campaign to get the funding.
“It didn’t work the first time because they couldn’t agree on what the solution would be. It was the tunnel ideal versus the loop.
“The government said if we can’t choose we are not getting the funding. So we campaigned for the loop.
“To be fair because we went out there and told them this is the solution. We finally got the funding and the planning permission for it.”
He says the challenge he will leave to his successor will be to ensure that Gloucestershire continues to punch above its weight.
“We are recognised by the Government as an area people want to invest in because we deliver,” he said.
“We’ve got two really big opportunities for the new Government in the delivery of its growth agenda. First is junction 10 of the M5, the Cheltenham cyber park and housing growth.
“And the second one is junction 9 and the potential for the Ashchurch and Tewkesbury garden town.
“It’s a real opportunity to land some real infrastructure gains and some genuinely sustainable housing growth that is well connected into road, rail and mass transit infrastructure.
“There’s a real chance to land that, if we get it right.”
Gloucestershire’s children services going into special measures in 2017 is among the worst challenges the authority has had to overcome during his time as leader, he said.
“You always face adversity. There are always things that don’t pan out the way you want to.
“And there will always be times you are challenged by things you didn’t see coming.
“The one I always talk about is children services. We knew we weren’t in a good place but we were clearly failing.
“I look back on that and think of that entire journey. One of my proudest moments as leader was to see the service come out of intervention.
“Not because of what I’d done but all the amazing hard work of all the staff to make it happen. And to see it pay off.”
During his time in office, Cllr Hawthorne has established Gloucestershire on the national stage through his role as chairman of the Conservative Councillors Association, Deputy chair of the
County Council’s Network and Digital Champion on the Local Government Association, having previously chaired the People and Place Board.
As a founding member of the Western Gateway, he worked to position Gloucestershire as a key player across the region and has helped secure a billion-pound pipeline of national investment to deliver infrastructure projects across the county.
He was also instrumental in securing Stage 7 of last year’s Tour of Britain for the county which showcased to the world all that Gloucestershire has to offer.
County Council Chief executive Peter Bungard said: “Mark’s ability to lead the council successfully and effectively for as long as he has is testament to his leadership qualities, his drive, commitment and the high regard he is held in by councillors and officers alike.
“Mark has the rare ability to effectively bring together people from all walks of life and get them working and delivering towards achieving a common goal.”
“Cllr Hawthorne said it has been an enormous privilege to lead the council for the past 14 years.
“While deciding to take a step back has not been easy, I am looking forward to all that life after being leader has to offer.
“I will do all I can to support the new leader to hit the ground running and will continue to represent the people of Quedgeley until the elections next year.
“It has been an honour to meet so many members of Gloucestershire communities over the years, to hear what is important to them, what is impacting on their lives and to do everything possible to address them.
“It has not always been easy, in fact, we have faced some incredibly challenging times, but it has always been rewarding and it has always been an honour.”
Cllr Hawthorne will continue to represent his constituents and possibly take on a cabinet position for the remainder of the current council.
But he will not seek re-election at next year’s county council election.
He will be stepping down as the leader of the Tory group at their next group meeting and a new leader is expected to be elected at that meeting.
The new group leader will not automatically become leader of the council – that appointment will be voted on by all 53 Gloucestershire County Councillors at their September meeting.