Bradford Council Chief Executive Richard Penn is to leave the authority on the grounds of ill health.

Mr Penn, 53, appointed to the position in July 1989, has been off work since June this year suffering from stress.

The announcement by Council leader Ian Greenwood that the head of the paid service - who earns more than £100,000 a year - will leave, follows months of speculation in City Hall.

The Council has received a certificate from an independent doctor confirming Mr Penn is permanently incapable of discharging his duties as chief executive.

He will receive immediate access to his pension, plus an enhancement to bring it up to what would have been his full entitlement under the scheme.

An anti-stress project has just been set up by Bradford Council after an independent survey showed a large proportion of the 23,000-strong workforce were suffering the condition.

Today Cliff Williams, regional secretary of Mr Penn's trade union, Unison, said Mr Penn's departure was a great disappointment. "It demonstrates the fact that stress can lead to many high-calibre officers in public service succumbing to illness," he said.

Mr Penn came to Bradford Council from his high-flying job at Liverpool Council at the time Derek Hatton was leader.

Councillor Greenwood said: "It is always sad when an employee has to leave us for reasons of ill health and particularly so when that person is head of the paid service.

"The past decade has been a very difficult and complex time for local government and appears to have taken its toll on our chief executive."

He said Council members hoped Mr Penn's health would improve away from the daily stress of his job.

Acting chief executive Philip Robinson said: "Richard has been a close colleague for many years and I am personally grateful to him for all the support he has offered me and my colleagues in that time."

Mr Robinson will continue as acting chief executive and a decision about the appointment process for a successor will be taken in the new year by the Council's policy and resources committee.

Mr Penn said he was sorry to be leaving Bradford Council where he had enjoyed ten years as chief executive.

"I have had the privilege of working with many talented and committed people, both inside and outside the Council," he said.

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