Maidenhead & Windsor

Part of Maidenhead council's major restructuring to put a renewed focus on the needs of residents and customers, the new directorate brings together a wide range of services that local people use on a daily basis, including highways, planning, property, leisure and libraries.

Maidenhead Cllr Mary Rose Gliksten, council leader, said she was delighted to announce David's appointment as another step forward in his long and distinguished career with the borough.

She said: "David has been a valued and highly-respected member of staff for many years. His vision, fairness, and thoroughly professional approach have earned him the esteem not only of colleagues inside the council but also of our partner organisations and the wider community.

"His vast knowledge and wide experience will be immensely valuable as we move forward with our Delivering Excellence programme. The restructuring gives us the opportunity to group customer-facing services together and we are confident that David will provide positive and constructive leadership to the new directorate as we move forward with plans for making our services even better in the future."

Originally from Cambridgeshire, David's background is in property and he is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. He joined the council in 1977 as chief assistant valuer and was appointed head of property in 1983 – a role later expanded to include responsibility for economic development and visitor management. In 1996 he was the project manager for the council's successful £64 million housing stock transfer and a year later also played a key role in Maidenhead borough's campaign for unitary status during the local government review.

In 2001 David was appointed director of leisure, cultural and property services and last summer was acting chief executive during David Lunn's absence through illness.

Earlier this year David was asked to take over as acting director of planning and environment, pending the restructuring. His new directorate encompasses many of the services covered by his two previous directorates.

David said: "I am very pleased to be taking on this new role at a particularly exciting time for the council and delighted that elected members and staff colleagues have confidence in me to take the directorate forward.

"I am very lucky to have talented and dedicated staff across all the services for which I am now responsible and any future success in this job will be largely due to their hard work and support. We have many challenges ahead – both in meeting the needs and aspirations of local residents and meeting national targets – but I have talented teams to rely on and, working closely with elected members, together we will aim to give Royal Borough residents continually improving services throughout our community."

David is married to Dee and they have two teenage children – Edward and Elizabeth.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead