Peter Holt has been appointed the new chief executive of Uttlesford District Council.

In a statement, the council said has extensive local government and leadership experience, as well as a background in organisational transformation.

He has been an independent strategic consultant since April, having previously been Assistant Chief Executive and Deputy Monitoring Officer for South Northants Council from 2018.

When advertised, it was stated the role's salary would be between £116,608 and £122,006 plus Returning Officer payments.

Cllr John Lodge, Uttlesford District Council's leader, said: “We had some very strong candidates for the role of chief executive, and I am delighted we are offering Peter the position.

“His appointment follows an extremely thorough recruitment process.

"We are confident he will be an asset to this council and to the residents of the district, and we look forward to having him post.”

The appointment followed a recruitment campaign which assessed a large field of candidates.

Eight candidates went through an assessment process, including technical interviews and exercises, before three took part in the final interview stage on Friday, September 3.

The appointment was confirmed at an extraordinary meeting of the council nearly a week later on Thursday, September 9 following a recommendation by an Appointments Committee.

Peter Holt is expected to take up the post of Head of Paid Service and Chief Executive of the Council in early October.

Dawn French stepped down as chief executive in August after five years in the role.

Since then, the role has been filled on a temporary basis by Rob Tinlin MBE.

A Freedom of Information request submitted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service revealed the temporary council chief was costing the council more than £1,000 per day.