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Barnet LBC has announced the departure of its executive director of finance and section 151 officer, Anisa Darr.She joined the council as a finance graduate in 2007, taking up her current role in 2017. She also served as president of the Society of London Treasurers in 2025-26.Chief executive Cath Shaw said: ‘Anisa signalled earlier on this year that she would like to leave Barnet to gain more experience in other environments and we are grateful to her for extending her stay to finalise our plan for financial sustainability. She will be much missed. We wish her the best for the future.' Roger Allonby has been appointed as director for economy and place at Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen CBCs.Allonby was previously at Herefordshire Council for seven years, most recently serving as service director for economy and growth.Brighton & Hove City Council has appointed Kate Wilson as its new director of environment and leisure.Wilson joins from Greenwich LBC, where she served as assistant director of environment and leisure.She has also previously worked at Mid Sussex DC, Elmbridge BC and Crawley BC, where she spent 18 years across two periods. Three trustees have joined the board of the Local Government Information Unit (LGiU).Susan Parsonage has more than 25 years of experience in local government, including chief executive roles at Lancaster City Council and her current role at Wokingham BC.Jonathan Flowers' background spans charities and social organisations in addition to local government, where he spent 25 years working at chief officer level. He is a non-executive director of Care City and the Democracy Club.David Mann is chief executive of digital agency dxw and has more than 30 years of experience across government, media and technology including building GOV.UK and the Government Digital Service.LGiU chief executive Jonathan Carr-West said: ‘I am delighted to welcome Susan, Jonathan and David to the LGiU board. Between them, they bring an exceptional breadth of experience across local government, public service, digital innovation and organisational leadership.' Sir Michael Lyons has announced he is to retire as chair of the English Cities Fund (ECF) in January.Sir Michael has led the national place-making partnership for more than 25 years from its establishment in 2002.He has also served as chief executive of Birmingham and Wolverhampton City Councils and Nottinghamshire CC before being knighted for services to local government in 2000.Sir Michael also headed the Lyons Housing Review on housebuilding in 2014 and chaired the Government's New Towns Taskforce in 2025.He said: ‘I have always believed that public investment should create lasting value for places and communities and, even if realised over the very long term, offer the prospect of a commercial return too. This is what we have achieved at ECF.' The Government has appointed Sergio Cavalaro as an independent chief construction and scientific adviser.Cavalaro is a professor of infrastructure systems at Loughborough University's School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering.He will serve a three-year term in the role, which was created as a result of a recommendation in the Grenfell Inquiry report. It will include providing advice on the safety, quality and resilience of buildings and on productivity across the built environment sector.Building safety minister Baroness Judith Blake said: ‘Sergio will play a vital role in shaping our reforms to ensure safety, robust regulation and high standards are at the core of the built environment sector.'

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PEOPLE

Barnet's finance director stands down

By Martin Ford | 07 October 2026

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