This year’s Local Government Challenge is now in its eighth year. The competition sees aspiring chief executives from across the country take part in a series of tough, real-life tasks over the next six months, with the prize of a £10,000 Bruce-Lockhart scholarship to spend on their own project in their authority up for grabs.

The setting for the first round of this year’s challenge was Swale BC, located about an hour’s train journey from London and home to a diverse population with a range of industries, from manufacturing, transport and logistics to tourism and farming.