Councillors vote on 14 October on Paul Walker as interim chief executive. His day rate is likely to exceed the post's £253,440 budget, the council's papers say.

Cheshire East Council has picked an interim chief executive to run the authority, four and a half months after its last chief executive left.

Full council will be asked on Wednesday 14 October to appoint Paul Walker to the post. The recommendation comes from the council’s Appointments Committee, which interviewed candidates on 1 October (minute extract for full council).

He would also become the borough’s Electoral Registration Officer and Returning Officer, the official who runs elections in Cheshire East.

Why the council needs one

The previous chief executive, Rob Polkinghorne, left the council on 31 May 2026. Since then Helen Charlesworth-May, the executive director for adult services, has covered the role on top of her own job, supported by other senior officers.

The officers’ report to the Appointments Committee says plainly that “this arrangement is not sustainable” (report AP/02/26-27). It gives three reasons the council needs experienced leadership now:

  • the council is under a non-statutory best value notice from the government
  • a recent Ofsted inspection
  • the wider change programmes running through 2026/27

Who he is

The committee’s note describes Mr Walker as a local government leader with more than 40 years in the public sector. It says he has been chief executive of Herefordshire Council and Copeland Borough Council, and held senior corporate director roles in London local government.

A partner search agency put forward three CVs by 18 September. All three candidates were experienced interim chief executives, able to be on site three days a week and to work four or five days a week. The papers do not say which pattern was agreed, or how long the interim post will last; they say only “for a period of time”.

What it will cost

The papers do not give his day rate. They do say it will probably cost more than the council has set aside.

  • The chief executive’s post has a budget of £253,440 a year, including employer’s National Insurance and pension contributions.
  • The finance comments say an interim chief executive “will likely command a day rate in excess of the budget available”.
  • Any extra cost is to be absorbed by the chief executive’s office first, and then across the council.

The same comments set out why that matters. The council is receiving Exceptional Financial Support from the government, and the report puts its funding gap at £15 million into 2027/28, after savings it has already identified. It also says the chief executive must be credible on the deficit in the dedicated schools grant, which pays for special educational needs support. That challenge remains “despite the proposed 90% write off”, the report says.

Also on the agenda for Wednesday

Full council meets at 11am in the Tenants’ Hall at Tatton Park, entered through the Rostherne gate (agenda). The same meeting will consider:

  • whether to object to or support the Peak Cluster carbon dioxide pipeline, routed past Higher Poynton, Disley and Gawsworth. Our preview of the Peak Cluster vote has the detail.
  • raising councillors’ mileage rate from 45p to 55p a mile, in line with the HMRC tax-free rate, backdated to 6 April. The Independent Remuneration Panel says it is the first rise since 2011 and the extra cost should be small. The council spent £1.275 million on councillors’ basic and special responsibility allowances in 2025/26. A wider review of allowances is put off until the new cabinet system has run for a year, starting in May 2027 (constitution committee recommendation, report, panel report).
  • a motion from Councillors John Knight and Laura Smith asking the highways department for a costed plan for a 20mph default limit on urban and residential roads, with an exceptions process to keep 30mph where a road is shown to be safe (notices of motion).

What it means for you

The chief executive is the council’s most senior paid official. The post holder runs the officers who deliver bins, roads, schools support and social care across Macclesfield, Wilmslow and the rest of the borough, and leads the work on next year’s budget.

That budget is the one most residents will feel. It sets council tax and decides which services are cut to close the gap the papers describe. Our Cheshire East council tax bands page has this year’s charges.

The meeting is open to the public. We will report the outcome of the appointment and the Peak Cluster vote after Wednesday.

Sources