A DEAL which saw Thurrock Council and the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham share a chief executive is over.

For the last two years, Graham Farrant had been head of both council's in a bid to save the authorities money.

LBBD announced in a statement today that it will now look at appointing its own Chief Executive. Once that appointment is made, Mr Farrant will return to his role as Thurrock's chief.

Mr Farrant, who earns £185,000 per year, had been splitting his time between offices in Thurrock and Barking.

It is thought a "peer review", carried out by another London council and the Local Government Association, may have prompted the decision.

But a Thurrock Council spokesman said the report "did not focus specifically on the joint working arrangements and its final report – which has yet to be published – is not expected to specifically refer to the arrangements".

Mr Farrant said: "The pace of change that is needed to respond to the agenda of the new administration in Barking and Dagenham, alongside the massive savings agenda for all local authorities, means that a full-time appointment is now needed.

"I am proud to have worked as chief executive for the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham for a second time, alongside my substantive role with Thurrock Council – it has been a privilege to help shape the growth agenda and to look at infrastructure investment requirements across a wider area and to establish the new vision and priorities."

The change is likely to raise questions over Thurrock Council's senior management structure.

The Conservatives in Thurrock - who have been highly critical of the "management merger" since it was introduced - have welcomed the move by the London borough.

Rob Gledhill, the Tory leader in Thurrock, said: "Having directors and senior managers driving up and down the A13 only wastes time and money; means decisions are delayed and the value of those highly paid staff is lost.

"Whilst directors are not here, in Thurrock, the borough will not move forward at the pace it needs to. I am sure this same issue was raised in the recent peer review undertaken at Barking and Dagenham and it would back up Thurrock Conservatives calls to bring this management merger to an end. 

"I would thank the Labour Leader of Barking and Dagenham for not only listening to the concerns Thurrock Conservatives, Thurrock residents, a peer review and clearly the thoughts of his own leadership, but for also taking action on them.

"Unfortunately the same cannot be said for Thurrock Labour and who ignored calls for the management merger to come to an end to help Thurrock improve, avoided calls for a similar review here and were only looking for quick savings. 

"Thurrock needs to improve faster and it is clear that that the whole of management merger will need to be urgently reviewed. "

John Kent, the leader of Thurrock Council, said: "I am pleased that Thurrock Council has been able to provide this level of support to Barking & Dagenham for the last two years and this certainly is not the end of our shared ambition for growth and development along the Thames Gateway; an arrangement which has benefitted everybody for the last two years."

Darren Rodwell, leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, said: "Our new administration has set out an exciting and challenging agenda for the borough, locking our future more strongly into the London economy and working with a range of partners around east London and beyond."

Thurrock Council and Barking and Dagenham shares a number of services, such as legal teams and strategy teams. It is thought this arrangement will continue.