Bradford Council appoints new strategic director of place

Bradford City Council has appointed the former regeneration director at Central Bedfordshire Council as its new strategic director of place with responsibility for planning.

Jason Longhurst has provided strategic support to Bradford City Council on an interim basis, said the council and has held senior leadership positions in a number of local authorities.

His previous local authority experience includes his roles as director of regeneration and business at Central Bedfordshire Council, as assistant executive director for development services (regeneration partnership) at North East Lincolnshire Council, and as executive director of placemaking at Black Country Consortium.

At Central Bedfordshire Council, he helped to shape the area’s strategic approach to Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor and introduced a requirement for residential developers to stipulate how many homes they will deliver in the first five years after securing planning permission.

Bradford Council said that Longhurst “will have strategic overview of a wide range of important functions across the local authority including economic development, planning, housing, neighbourhood services, transport infrastructure and culture including [the] City of Culture 2025 bid”.

Longhurst, said: “I am keen to ensure we can maximise the potential of the whole district, supporting a sustainable recovery and delivery on opportunities for all."

Longhurst is also currently the chair of green energy body the UK Business Council for Sustainable Development.