Starting a new job as chief executive may be daunting, but spare a thought for Mary Orton, who faced foot-and-mouth and Jeremy Clarkson in her first few weeks at Waverley DC. Jamie Hailstone reports
Within weeks of taking the top job at Waverly BC, earlier this year, Mary Orton had to deal with foot-and-mouth disease and Jeremy Clarkson – talk about a baptism of fire. Glasgow-born Mary joined the district council in June from East Herts DC, where she was director of customer and community services.
Just six weeks later, in August, and she was dealing with what must be every chief executive’s worst nightmare, an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in her borough.
‘It was so totally unexpected,’ she says. ‘My first reaction was, “You’re not serious”, but two minutes later, ITN was on the phone to our press office. ‘I barely knew all the names of the people on our emergency plan, but I have the most excellent staff.’ Mary says staff worked around the clock to ensure queries from the public and those farmers affected by the outbreak.
The council also played a key role lobbying the Government to close footpaths in the district.
Although the outbreaks have now been resolved, Mary says the effects are still being felt by small businesses and farmers in the area.
Like many, she chose local government as a career almost by accident. After carrying some research work in Birmingham, she moved to London to work as a group co-ordinator for the Gingerbread charity.
She then saw an advert for community development officers at Tower Hamlets LBC, and decided to give it a go.
Her career in local government started in 1990, as a community development officer on an estate in Bethnal Green, in London’s East End.
‘The job entailed everything, from raising funds to buy chairs for the community centre to trying to encourage residents to form a housing association,’ she says. From there, she went to work for the Corporation of London, St Albans City Council and latterly, East Herts DC. Mary says the leafy scenery in Waverley ‘just blows me away’.
‘Waverley is phenomenally beautiful,’ she adds. ‘It would be difficult to find a part of the country which could beat it.’
But even the commuter belt has problems to face. Mary says the average house price in the district is £370,000, which means many people cannot afford to get on the property ladder.
The council’s housing stock of 6,000 homes is also under tremendous strain, she says, because the authority is taxed at a rate of 46% by the Government in the rents it receives.
She says this means the authority has to send the Treasury a cheque for £10.5m every year, with the result that it cannot afford to bring its housing stock up to the Decent Homes standard.
In the meantime, there is the slight matter of the BBC programme Top Gear, which is filmed in the district at Dunsfold Park aerodrome.
Mary says the aerodrome itself ‘is very interesting’.
Not only is it where the Government keeps stocks of the foot-and-mouth disease vaccine, but part of the last James Bond film, Casino Royale, was also filmed there.
The council had to rap Mr Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May over the knuckles earlier this autumn when the Top Gear presenters appeared to flout the smoking ban in a programme.
As a chief executive, she sees her main role as being an influencer.
Twice a week, she holds an open door session, when staff can come to her without an appointment and talk about any issue which concerns them. ‘I always wanted to be a chief executive when I grew up,’ she jokes. ‘It’s so different from being a director, because there’s only one of you. It’s the best job in local government.’
Just six weeks later, in August, and she was dealing with what must be every chief executive’s worst nightmare, an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in her borough.
‘It was so totally unexpected,’ she says. ‘My first reaction was, “You’re not serious”, but two minutes later, ITN was on the phone to our press office. ‘I barely knew all the names of the people on our emergency plan, but I have the most excellent staff.’ Mary says staff worked around the clock to ensure queries from the public and those farmers affected by the outbreak.
The council also played a key role lobbying the Government to close footpaths in the district.
Although the outbreaks have now been resolved, Mary says the effects are still being felt by small businesses and farmers in the area.
Like many, she chose local government as a career almost by accident. After carrying some research work in Birmingham, she moved to London to work as a group co-ordinator for the Gingerbread charity.
She then saw an advert for community development officers at Tower Hamlets LBC, and decided to give it a go.
Her career in local government started in 1990, as a community development officer on an estate in Bethnal Green, in London’s East End.
‘The job entailed everything, from raising funds to buy chairs for the community centre to trying to encourage residents to form a housing association,’ she says. From there, she went to work for the Corporation of London, St Albans City Council and latterly, East Herts DC. Mary says the leafy scenery in Waverley ‘just blows me away’.
‘Waverley is phenomenally beautiful,’ she adds. ‘It would be difficult to find a part of the country which could beat it.’
But even the commuter belt has problems to face. Mary says the average house price in the district is £370,000, which means many people cannot afford to get on the property ladder.
The council’s housing stock of 6,000 homes is also under tremendous strain, she says, because the authority is taxed at a rate of 46% by the Government in the rents it receives.
She says this means the authority has to send the Treasury a cheque for £10.5m every year, with the result that it cannot afford to bring its housing stock up to the Decent Homes standard.
In the meantime, there is the slight matter of the BBC programme Top Gear, which is filmed in the district at Dunsfold Park aerodrome.
Mary says the aerodrome itself ‘is very interesting’.
Not only is it where the Government keeps stocks of the foot-and-mouth disease vaccine, but part of the last James Bond film, Casino Royale, was also filmed there.
The council had to rap Mr Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May over the knuckles earlier this autumn when the Top Gear presenters appeared to flout the smoking ban in a programme.
As a chief executive, she sees her main role as being an influencer.
Twice a week, she holds an open door session, when staff can come to her without an appointment and talk about any issue which concerns them. ‘I always wanted to be a chief executive when I grew up,’ she jokes. ‘It’s so different from being a director, because there’s only one of you. It’s the best job in local government.’
