There is little need to rehash the details of the atrocities that thrust Rotherham into the national spotlight almost three years ago.

Following revelations of widespread child sexual exploitation (CSE), mass failings within the council and other public bodies, two cutting reports and the biggest government intervention in local government history, Rotherham MBC was subsequently held up as an example of how not to run an organisation.

Its leader, Cllr Chris Read, the self-proclaimed ‘most scrutinised leader in the country’, came in after the problems. He is open and honest about the ‘truly catastrophic consequences’ that emerged from ‘deep routed and cultural’ issues in the council.

While stressing that he wants ‘in no way’ to minimise the devastation that occurred, he insists it is now vital for the council, the borough and its residents to ‘draw a line in the sand’.

Two years on from Alexis Jay’s report, Cllr Read now feels optimistic that a brighter future lies ahead.

‘People are upset about what happened and they are upset that politicians they elected were at fault, but there is much more going for Rotherham and we have to harness that and take it forward,’ he says. ‘We cannot keep looking back and throwing stones.’

Cllr Read claims the culture of denial outlined in Louise Casey’s report has slowly been turned around.

He welcomes the watchful eye of the media, the public and politicians and believes this helps to ensure the council does not slip back into old habits.

Whitehall introduced commissioners into the authority after Ms Casey’s investigation and Cllr Read maintains that, while no council wants to have their executive powers taken away, ‘Rotherham desperately needed it’.

The commissioners are less engaged today than they were a year ago – something Cllr Read attributes to the significant improvements made in the borough.

However, when asked when the council was expecting to take back control, Cllr Read is less certain. He says: ‘We are extremely careful not to put a timeframe on it because it has to be absolutely right. What happened was really horrific.

‘We want our powers back as quickly as possible – of course we do – but we have not asked for them back just yet.’

When pressed about when he hopes to have powers returned, Cllr Read says: ‘If not in five or three years then something is badly wrong. It will be somewhere in that direction before we get back on our own two feet but we are really confident we can get there.’

Cllr Read suggests Rotherham ‘got lucky’ with the commissioners they were assigned.

He says: ‘For a small authority we ended up with big local government figures with masses of expertise. It would have been very easy for us to get the wrong people.’

Input from ‘such high-calibre’ people such as Sir Derek Myers and Mary Ney will allow the authority to not only fix its problems but to excel beyond expectations, Cllr Read insists.

Rotherham MBC is currently pursuing the ‘child-centred borough’ concept, whereby all policy decisions take into account the potential impact on children. Cllr Read’s aim is to turn the CSE issue on its head and insists the council can now become a model for best practice across the country.

However, questions remain about the transparency of the appointment of commissioners and Cllr Read raises concerns about where checks and balances would lie if problems persisted.

He also reports minimal engagement from central government, but does not necessarily see this negatively.

‘I’ve barely had any face to face contact at all, though I couldn’t tell you what meetings commissioners have had with ministers,’ he says.

‘But if the Government was really panicked about our performance and improvement we would certainly be hearing a lot more from them. We are taking it as a vote of confidence.

‘The door is always open to the Government,’ he adds, before quipping that he ‘wouldn’t mind if they would like to write us a cheque’.

Although his comment is meant to be taken tongue in cheek, commissioners have cost the authority somewhere in the region of £600,000. It is clear the impact of shrinking budgets makes the pill a little harder to swallow.

Cllr Read says he often finds it difficult to justify the costs to residents but the fact is the authority has gained some £5m in additional government funding for children’s services as a result of the improvement process. Significant savings will also be realised through the benefits of early intervention.

‘There is a substantial cost to the public purse of having commissioners, but you have to weigh that against the cost of a dysfunctional organisation,’ says Cllr Read.

‘You have to remember this is a last gasp intervention. You would not want the Government to be forcing these kinds of costs on local authorities if they did not need to do it.’

While the council has made significant steps on its improvement journey, the CSE scandal has left a lasting mark.

Not only has it scarred the reputation of the borough – and local government more widely – but the council now finds itself grappling with fractured community relations and an ongoing battle against racism, which Cllr Read finds particularly upsetting.

He says: ‘The difficult question is around how you create a socially cohesive community. It cannot be about pontificating or telling people what you want them to think, but instead stressing that we are all part of the same community.

‘The issues are hugely complex, but we are confident we can overcome them.’

Cllr Read’s optimism does not appear to be misplaced. Not only did he win an all-out election in May, commissioner Ney describes the intervention as ‘successful’ and ‘sustainable’.

Cllr Read’s commitment to his town is clear and he appears to see improvement as a personal endeavour.

‘It is a strange thing for a town, particularly when it is the place you have lived your whole life,’ he says. ‘I look forward to the day when the place I grew up in doesn’t have this awful reputation.’