The birth of a new unitary authority is an auspicious occasion – and the man who will become the chief executive of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council on 1 April believes he’s taking on the most exciting job around in local government at the moment.

As incoming chief executive Graham Farrant is no stranger to working at the top table in the sector – and he has a strong faith in the ability of unitaries to deliver services at scale. He tells The MJ: ‘I worked at Birmingham City Council around 2000 as director of housing – a council with a million people. I ran Thurrock BC which has around 170,000 residents and Barking and Dagenham LBC which has about 200,000. I have a great belief in unitary authorities. With smaller authorities you lose those economies of scale.’ BCP Council, with about 400,000 residents, strikes him as an ideal size.