City of York chief executive Kersten England has been announced as the preferred candidate to assume to top leadership role at Bradford MBC.

A vote ratifying Ms England's appointment will be taken at a meeting of full council on 19 May.

Ms England's appointment will mark a return to the Yorkshire borough - which is the fourth largest single tier authority in the country with a workforce of 20,000 and a net annual budget of £401m – having previously served as director of policy and performance for Bradford until she left the authority in 2005.