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BROOMHEAD RESIGNS FROM NWDA
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Star date:13th October 2010
CHIEF EXEC OF NORTH WEST DEVELOPMENT AGENCY RESIGNS
Steve Broomhead, Chief Executive of the North West Development Agency resigned today.
Could it have been the homophobic/racist text scandal? Could it have been the chauffeur driven rides to cup finals scandal? Or could it have been the over close links between the NWDA and Peel Holdings?
Click here to find out… |
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`So Goodbye Yellow Brick Road…'
Steve Broomhead, Chief Exec of NWDA, fell on his sword today and resigned as of 22nd October. Broomhead, who picks up £196,000 a year from the NWDA, was outed by Salford Star in August (click here) for sending a gay joke about Elton John by text, despite the NWDA championing gay rights and campaigning against homophobia. We called for his resignation.
In 2007 Broomhead was given a formal written warning after admitting sending a text joke about `Pakis' to a driver in a private hire firm. And the Chief Exec also had to explain two tax payer funded chauffeur driven trips to the Rugby Challenge Cup finals.
There have also been questions asked about the close links between NWDA and Peel Holdings, with public money flowing from NWDA to help finance Peel's MediaCityUK project (see here and here).
Recently, Broomhead also had to defend an attack from David Cameron himself over NWDA office space in the `surf paradise' of Orange County, USA.
So was it any of these things which forced Steve Broomhead to resign? Nah – it was to help him achieve a "better work life balance" apparently. Well he'll certainly get that with his £1million CETV pension pot to help him on his way. He can now text to his heart's content without anyone gawping in at them...
* The NWDA is being scrapped by the ConDem coalition Government in April 2012.
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miss concerned wrote
at 11:21:10 on 02 June 2021 |
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| Is Broomhead involved in the change of venue for Chester uni in Padgate - or even more interesting is he involved in the action to build houses on the site or a new Testco!!
Money and greed appear to be the drive-in this - such a waste! |
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Prof Bogbrush wrote
at 11:03:16 on 10 October 2020 |
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| Broomhead now given MBE for service to libraries. That's after chairing the national libraries task force. It's also after trying to close libraries in Warrington which didn't happen after local protests. |
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Brendan G wrote
at 05:46:45 on 20 May 2020 |
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| Freemason. They all are in the NW. |
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Sick of The Parasites . wrote
at 07:17:58 on 27 May 2012 |
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| Poor Warrington taxpayers . What a scandalous rip-off . These council parasites have no idea how much anger the electorate feel about this . This arrogant looting of the taxpayer must end . We're all in this together , my arse . |
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Prof Bogbrush wrote
at 16:27:42 on 26 May 2012 |
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| After so long in the wilderness, Stevie B is soon to reprise his first starring role as he returns to Warrington BC as interim chief executive for 6 months. 120K pro rata for 4 days a week. Good to know he's ready to give so much back to the town which so carefully nurtured his precious and unique talents before sharing him with the rest of the north west. Just don't let him borrow your phone! |
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fidelma gallagher wrote
at 08:24:19 on 26 June 2011 |
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| just noticed John Merrys pal has been appointed a professor at liverpools hope university and now been appointed chief at chesters new development agency. The work life balance statement was obviously lies so who is going to get to the truth? Will it be the salford star or will it be the crassly named attilla the pun (who wasnt even bright enough to include a pun). Its 'PUN'TS LIKE ATILLA WHO GIVE THESES MORONS THE OXYGEN OF SURVIVAL. |
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Dave wrote
at 20:26:29 on 24 December 2010 |
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| Used to work at Warrington Collegiate when Broomhead - we called him Richard Head was there.
Had some problems with him - imposing new worse condtions on Teachers or trying. I retired because he could not get me to sign a gagging clause. I may just join the library at Padgate check some books - before the campus closes down - I fancy a Tesco in 10 minute's walk
Cheers |
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Oh you are awful !!!! wrote
at 06:21:46 on 23 October 2010 |
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But I like you!!!
I think someone has been pinching the Salford Stars stories but didnt he do well, make sure you click on the song as you read and lets celebrate that John Merrys mate Broomhead is off down the yellow brick Rd. Shame on the North West for letting this creature get away with all these corrupt transgessions and shame on the North West Media for hiding the truth. As he waddles off please drink a toast to the Salford Star.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjHJ_snG3RI
NOW THAT government cuts have taken away all his spending power, the NWDA’s pen pusher-in-chief Steve Broomhead has taken early retirement and is no longer a burden to the taxpayer.
The former skipper of the Warrington-based quango, who was being paid more than the Prime Minister at £196,000 per year, said he felt the “time is right” for him to step down and has jumped ship before the good Dr Cable’s quango busters sink it early next year. Broomhead said he wanted to address his work-life balance with presumably more focus on the ‘life’ part, and don’t worry folks, with his £1m taxpayer-funded pension pot he will not go wanting.
Steve comes from a background entirely within the public sector and therefore has no exposure to the workings of real-life or business. Born in Nottingham in 1956, he graduated with a BA in economics from Swansea University in 1978 and went on to pursue a life as a teacher, taking up a post at West Bridgeford College, Nottingham. In 1994 he became the principal of Warrington College and from there became the chief executive of Warrington Borough Council in 1997. In 2003 he became the boss of the North West Development Agency.
He was labelled by many as the most powerful man in the North West, and is being fawned over by local media and credited as the father of Blackpool’s regeneration by the likes of current Executive of the Places Directorate Helen France, who, coincidentally, used to work for Broomhead before she parachuted into her current job.
It wont surprise you to find that I agree more with the government than with Helen France on this. He was part of an unnecessary quango that should never have existed. A quango that, under Broomhead’s stewardship, saw fit to attract the attention of the Prime Minister in exposing its wasteful spending of taxpayer’s money.
Earlier this year David Cameron blasted the NWDA for spending almost £800k per year funding an office in Orange County, California – a surfers paradise boasting “idyllic beaches, hillsides and landscapes” and offering activities such as whale watching, golf, and wine tasting. A summer jolly, anyone?
Similar waste comes in the form of executive cars; in 2005/2006 the NWDA spent £57,000 of taxpayers money on executive cars for senior NWDA staff, including Broomhead.
Broomhead has also come under fire for two taxpayer-funded, chauffeur-driven jollies to rugby finals in London and Cardiff: this appears to be one of the major bugbears that local ratepayers in Warrington have. One commenter on the Warrington Guardian put it rather well;
“It’s a small example of the wasteful attitude inherent in an organisation that has spent £1.5 billion in the last three years, led by somebody with no experience of business, to deliver a series of vague goals that might have happened anyway.”
The 'living hero', Steven Broomhead
I should mention that in his previous life as Chief Executive of Warrington Council, it is alleged that Broomhead lent £250,000 of public money to Warrington Wolves and then shortly afterwards, as if by magic, appeared on the club’s board of directors (he is now the non-executive chairman).
In 2008, the NWDA had to defend Broomhead after it was alleged that he helped to secure employment at the NWDA for the girlfriend of one of Warrington Wolves’ star players.
As NWDA boss, he gave £2million to Chester University and then conveniently had a library named after him. The same sort of thing I believe the current lot in Blackpool are doing; building their legacy with public money (often from, you guessed it, the NWDA). I can see it now, Callow’s already eyed the Cocker Clock, Bancroft Park, and so on, so how about a rename of St. John’s to the Callow Cloister? Maybe Maxine’s Mecca for the new amphitheatre they are building in front of the tower? Or not.
In 2008, Warrington Borough Transport nominated Broomhead as a ‘living hero’ and named a bus after him. Maybe they should do that in Blackpool: all the buses are old, clapped out and spew toxic gas so it would be rather appropriate to name them all after councillors.
I digress. A publication calling itself the Salford Star suggests that whilst employed at the NWDA, Broomhead was investigated for sending inappropriate text messages, such as;
What do Richard Hammond and Elton John have in common..? Both their helmets are covered in skid marks..!
I’m not going to get all vitriolic about that, because I am positive that Broomhead is not homophobic, and sending jokes around is something that many people do or have done whilst at work. But when your organisation is strictly anti-homophobia and pro-equality and you’re the chief executive of it sending texts like that, it does undermine your integrity and suggests questions about whether you practice what you preach.
Oh, hang on. I forgot to mention that in 2007 Broomhead was also slapped on the wrist for sending a joke about a dying ‘Paki’. Bearing in mind that several police officers in Greater Manchester were booted out for sending a joke with the word ‘nigger’ in it, why was Broomhead effectively absolved?
It does suggest a chink in his armour (pun not intended) and that he might not be this ultra-professional superhero that everyone’s making out.
Broomhead is a teacher that ended up promoted way beyond his station. He has never run a business nor had to work within strict financial constraints where every penny counts. He was given a huge pot of money and carte blanche to hand it out wherever he wanted, perhaps to those authorities that took him on the best lunches.
One of his final acts which will not be forgotten in Blackpool is the money the NWDA gave to Liverpool which they then used to incentivise B&M Bargains into closing their Blackpool distribution centre and relocating to Speke. Broomhead will probably tell you that 700 jobs were created by spending this money, but all it did was increase employment in Liverpool at the expense of Blackpool on a one-for-one basis. Now 700 locals need to look for jobs that don’t exist.
Some father of regeneration, eh?
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You might also be interested in...
NWDA; Useful Organisation or Useless Quango?
North West Development Agency to be ‘reformed’
We Don’t Want Labour Beside the Seaside!!!
The £250k Objection
They’ve scaled it back – again
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Posted by Philtheone at 10:25 am Tagged with: nwda, steve broomhead
10 Responses to “Broomhead retires before quango expires”
Comments (10)
Harold says:
October 16, 2010 at 11:46 am
Phil ,your best article to date Sir!. I salute you.Wonder how much of a massive pension this dripping cunt will get for being the useless wig wearing wanker that he is.I say this, all big wigs in public sector bodies MUST have at least 10 years PRIVATE sector experience.If the NWRDA were still here, I would hand it over to Philip Green.A public sector with private sector insights and experience,is a good thing in terms of value for money,efficency etc,all within a not for profit enviroment, but this time served anus sucker has been given the job for being that a time served FAILED teacher.What angers me is that he got off for PC crimes that I would have been sacked for,although the jokes were funny, lol.
So what replaces the NWRDA which has done fuck all for Wyre and Blackpool in terms of much needed infrastructure?
The thought of Callow and that failed whore Helen France putting forward business cases for funding scares me, given their appalling track record.Steve Shithead was inept but so are Callow and co, that is the major problem for us.
whatever happed to Howard Bernstein? Hes done a Lord Lucan.
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Philtheone says:
October 16, 2010 at 1:30 pm
I think the RDAs are being replaced by a regional development fund for the whole UK and will focus on areas dependent on public sector investment, so hopefully that means areas on the Fylde.
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Philtheone says:
October 16, 2010 at 1:30 pm
I think Bernstein’s contract expired a while back after the Tower/Winter Gardens purchase.
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True Blackpudlian says:
October 16, 2010 at 11:49 am
Great article Phil I am just on my way out now so I will provide a proper comment later. I was delighted when I saw this jobsworth had stood down and I was going to write an article myself but I have been bombarded with work and other things in the last 2 weeks.
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Harold says:
October 16, 2010 at 12:17 pm
well said TB!
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John says:
October 16, 2010 at 12:32 pm
This is defiantly a public sector phenomenon because in the Private world you would be out on your ear within six months. Having said that I am surprised he didn’t take redundancy payment before he retired I guess there is some clause stopping him doing it or I am sure he would.
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Philtheone says:
October 16, 2010 at 1:38 pm
As far as I know he hasn’t been made redundant.
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John says:
October 16, 2010 at 2:06 pm
I know he hasn’t ( from what I read of your article) but he would have been when the agency folds. So I just can’t help but wonder why he didn’t stay on and get his redundancy payment and then take early retirement?
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Philtheone says:
October 17, 2010 at 9:03 am
Oh right, no idea.
How could he get that payment from an employer that no longer exists and has no assets, though?
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lulz says:
October 17, 2010 at 1:20 pm
can i get a rewind?
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Gruffy wrote
at 15:04:12 on 17 October 2010 |
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| Fidelma Gallagher is quite correct, maybe we should try to get him in the honours list as he stands up for Salford People |
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Jim Devine wrote
at 09:12:21 on 17 October 2010 |
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| Sorry to contradict your rant and support of Masnchester city council but wasnt their council leader recently cautioned by police for slapping a girl and i9s that not a criminal offence. Goodness, how can we lecture Iran or Zimbabwe when we cannot even make sure our own leaders can behave. |
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Fidelma Gallagher. wrote
at 22:02:19 on 16 October 2010 |
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| What does this guy have to do to get massive support. To me he is the greatest journalist the North West has produced and believe me I have met a few. The rest are understandable cowards, maybe there is a moral in here that says money really does corrupt.
P.S Bye , bye Broomhead, just a pity you couldnt take a load of North West political cronies with you. Thank god for Manchester City Councils integrity, you wouldnt catch any racists or child beaters there now would you. |
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jim devine wrote
at 19:55:45 on 15 October 2010 |
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| Yes Billy, it does appear the act of a coward just when strong leadership and empathy towards his staff was needed. |
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Billy Glype wrote
at 05:13:02 on 14 October 2010 |
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| Justice at last, long over due, this guy and his cronies have been bleeding the tax payers for way too long. Well done Star for keeping tabs on him and exposing him for what he is. !!!! |
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