Kathy O'Leary
Elections show the organisation at its ‘one council’ best
Kathy O' Leary says: 'As both pollsters and returning officers would agree, success in elections is talking only about the result and not the process.'
Spending priorities are for local communities to decide
What’s the difference between a Thunderbirds puppet and the uplift in the local government finance settlement? None, both have strings attached, writes Kathy O’Leary.
Districts ‘think global, act local’
Stroud's action plan for carbon neutrality includes continuing to put its own house in order but is also about working in partnership with others and supporting its passionate communities, says Kathy O’Leary.
We need diverse teams of decision makers
Kathy O 'Leary says 'there are people in our workforces and communities who need our advocacy, and we need to make a credible commitment to improvement, ensuring they are better represented and their voices are heard'.
What's next for regional planning? Discuss
Nearly two years after submitting its local plan Stroud DC is the latest district to get a letter from inspectors pointing to the 'absence of a meaningful strategic planning perspective to help us', says Kathy O'Leary.
Who would you rather was holding the mirror up to your council?
The LGA has responded to criticisms of corporate peer challenges by strengthening its offer to provide more stringent assessments, says Kathy O'Leary. 'We need to embrace this if we are not to be "done to" by Oflog'.
What a wonderful world
Creative thinking allied with strong team and partnership working underpinned Stroud's emergency planning response to a one in 1,963-year flood event, says Kathy O'Leary.
The natural place for investment
Stroud DC's online economic development ‘prospectus’ sets out why the district is ‘The Natural Place’ to do business, says Kathy O'Leary.
Learning from this election round
Kathy O'Leary asks if there should be greater focus on reducing the potential for postal vote fraud and multiple voting, 'historically, a bigger issue than voter impersonation'.
We’re determined to do the best that we can for our communities and places
Kathy O'Leary says we are 'not short of ideas to swap and support to offer, sparking off each other’s energy and giving us hope that we can achieve all that is demanded of us in these most testing of times'.
Maintaining services in the face of crises
Greg Clark has asked councils to close loopholes to curtail risky income generation. Kathy O'Leary says that 'realistically, we’ll be taking every funding and low-risk income-generating opportunity open to us'.
We need a more imaginative approach to local leadership
District councils’ local knowledge and closeness to their communities could prove invaluable to levelling up if a more imaginative approach is taken to local leadership, says Kathy O'Leary.
Reform would help more councils achieve their ambitious targets and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels
The 2021 revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework missed the opportunity to remove existing barriers to onshore wind generation, says Kathy O'Leary.
Net zero ambitions yet to be levelled up
The Levelling Up White Paper is a missed opportunity to put housing at the heart of the drive to net zero, says Kathy O'Leary.
Pop a local present under the tree this Christmas
With just 15 shopping days left until Christmas, Kathy O'Leary says her council has been asking residents to shop local for the sake of the economy and the environment.
Mastering yourself is true power
A debate at the recent Solace Summit reminded Kathy O'Leary that to effectively lead others, leaders first need to successfully lead themselves.
Time to review our history
Following the toppling of slave trader Edward Colston’s statue in Bristol, Kathy O'Leary explains how her council is reconsidering its historic monuments.
Advantage Stroud
As the country - and the tennis - restarts after CIVID, Stroud DC chief executive Kathy O'Leary says every council should play up to its strengths when it comes to rebuilding the economy
We are getting warmer on climate change
The Government needs to apply the same problem solving to climate change as it has to tackling the pandemic, says Kathy O'Leary.
Our organisational culture needs to match staffs' expectations
People have reflected on what they want from work, how and where they want to work and how this fits into their lives, says chief executive of Stroud DC Kathy O'Leary.