Halton appoints Lancashire’s Young as new chief exec 

Stephen Young, currently executive director of growth at Lancashire County Council, will replace the outgoing David Parr. 

“I’m thrilled to be joining Halton at this exciting time,” Young said. “It’s a great place with big plans and even bigger ambitions with a group of highly skilled and committed staff and members.

“I will obviously be very sad to move on from Lancashire County Council but I am proud of all I have achieved while working for the authority.”

Young has spent the last four years at Lancashire, where he has worked on several key developments aimed at boosting the county’s economy. 

One of the biggest is Lancashire Central, a 160-acre mixed-use scheme in Cuerden being led by Maple Grove Developments. 

In addition, he has overseen the creation of the Preston Western Distributor, part of the £434m Preston and Lancashire City Deal. 

He joins Halton Council replacing Parr, who has been chief executive at the local authority for the last 18 years. 

Parr’s tenure will end on 31 March. A start date for Young will be announced in the coming days. 

“This is a pivotal role that attracted a very strong field of candidates,” said Cllr Mike Wharton, leader of Halton Council. 

“Throughout the process, myself and my fellow members of the appointments committee have been particularly impressed by Stephen’s extensive and varied record of achievements, his passion for public service and his personal values, which we believe will be well matched to Halton.” 

Halton Council’s pipeline of projects includes the potential revamp of Halton General Hospital in Runcorn and the 360-home redevelopment of Golden Triangle industrial estate. 

The latter project is being led by Chester-based developer Cityheart, which was appointed as the council’s development partner last year.