THE NORTH-EAST’S biggest council has named its new chief executive.

Terry Collins is poised to take over at Durham County Council when George Garlick retires in January.

Mr Collins is currently the council’s corporate director of neighbourhood services and is best known for his role as chair of Durham’s City Safety Group, responding to three student drownings in the River Wear.

A full council meeting is expected to confirm his appointment later this month (Wednesday, October 28).

His salary will be £185,000 a year, down from the £200,000 earned by Mr Garlick, who has led the council since September 2008 and who turns 60 in January.

He takes over as the council faces cuts of more than £250m by the end of the decade and with the Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review expected to confirm further grant reductions for local authorities.

Council leader Simon Henig said: “This process has been understandably rigorous and transparent.

“Reflecting the continued financial pressures facing the public sector as a whole, as part of this recruitment we have also reduced the salary for this post by £15,000.

“The cross-party committee’s recommendation will now go before full council later this month where a decision on the appointment will be made.”

Mr Collins was schooled in in Redcar and studied at Teesside University. He was previously director of neighbourhood services and assistant chief executive at York Council and moved to Durham in 2009, when the council became a unitary authority.

At Durham, he has overseen the outsourcing of leisure centres, the introduction of fortnightly bin collections and been in charge of the treasured highways budget.

But it as chair of the City Safety Group that he has been most prominent, bringing together Durham University, students, landlords, landowners and others to agree a strong response to the string of tragic deaths.

Liberal Democrat councillor Mark Wilkes criticised the council for initially looking to promote someone from within, although Mr Collins is the preferred candidate of a cross-party appointments committee.