A NEW boss has been named for City of York Council.

Mary Weastell, currently chief executive of Selby District Council, has been appointed to the same position at City of York Council.

She replaces previous chief executive Kersten England who left to become the boss of Bradford City Council last summer.

Ms Weastell said she was "honoured and humbled" to be offered the top job in York.

She added: "The position is one of the most important of any chief executive of the great English cities.

“My focus will also be on exploiting the city’s strengths to drive growth and prosperity, supporting business growth, housing and infrastructure, and building on its unique cultural offer as a world-leading visitor destination.

“The city is uniquely placed to play a leading role in the government’s agenda to give more powers to local councils too, and I want to see York at the heart of this debate.

“There will be many challenges ahead, as local government deals with continued pressure on budgets to deal with social care, for example. But I want to look at new ways of doing things so we’re working alongside others to ensure we can deliver the best possible services in the most effective ways.”

In March, The Press reported that the current pay packet for a York's council chief is between £133,000 and £145,000, but a report for the staffing committee said this was at the lower end of the scale for similar sized authorities and there was scope to increase that "to secure the appointment of an appropriate candidate".

A cross-party appointing panel was made up of Conservative Cllr David Carr, Lib Dem Cllr Keith Aspden, and Labour's Cllr Janet Looker. In a joint statement, they said: “The decision to appoint Mary was unanimous and we’re delighted that she will be joining us in York.

“Mary brings a wealth of local government experience, having previously been a Strategic Director at Bradford Metropolitan Council and a Director at Wakefield Metropolitan Borough Council."

Ms Weastell's current job is split between heading up Selby District Council, and acting as assistant chief executive of North Yorkshire County Council.

They added: “Mary also has direct experience of working at City of York Council having spent four months on secondment in 2013.With her impressive track record in local government and in delivering key projects, we’re confident she will make a real and positive difference for the people who live, work and visit York.”

Ms Weastell’s appointment will now be ratified at the Annual Council meeting on Thursday, May 26. Her start date is not yet confirmed.

The job has been filled in the interim by acting chief executive Steve Stewart, and the appointments panel thanked Mr Stewart for his hard work.