Norfolk council appoints new CEO with £136K-per-year salary

Kate Blakemore will be the new boss at West Norfolk Council, after councillors agreed to appoint her to the post.

She will switch from a senior officer role at East Suffolk Council, where she serves as strategic director of corporate services.

Alistair Beales, leader of the Independent coalition-led authority, said Ms Blakemore was selected after an "extensive and rigourous" selection process.

Alistair Beales, leader of West Norfolk Council (Image: Alistair Beales)

"Kate is an extremely impressive individual who we believe can be an exceptional chief executive for this authority and ambassador for west Norfolk," he added.

Ms Blakemore will replace Lorraine Gore as the chief executive, who announced her plans to retire by September.

Chief executive Lorraine Gore is retiring from her post (Image: Newsquest)

West Norfolk Council is undergoing a significant period of change, with a number of senior officers leaving their posts this year.

In April, there was also a shift politically after Alistair Beales ousted Terry Parish as the leader of the Independent coalition. 

He hopes to usher in a new era at the authority, which has become known as Norfolk's 'most cantankerous council' due to frequent fall-outs among members.