Industry heavyweight and Highways columnist Martin Duffy has announced that he is stepping down as chair of the Local Council Roads Innovation Group (LCRIG).
He revealed that his role will ‘diminish’ over the next year and stressed the time was right for him to step aside having ‘played his part and given everything’ to LCRIG’s success, first as chief executive and then as chair.
.jpg)
Mr Duffy was appointed CEO of LCRIG in 2020, when the group had 60 local authority members. It has since grown to 112 council members, with 19 more pending, together with scores of private sector associate members.
In July this year, Mr Duffy became LCRIG chair, making way for Paula Claytonsmith to become the new chief executive.
Discussions are already underway to find a replacement for Mr Duffy, who suggested that although nothing has been confirmed, the new chair might be someone from outside of the industry who ‘doesn’t swim in the same pool as us’ and can offer ‘new blood and new perspectives’.
Mr Duffy made the announcement in an emotional opening to LCRIG’s Strictly Highways this week.
He reflected on the success of LCRIG and his personal history of bringing industry knowledge, as a former director at Kier, to support the public sector and community-based work.
As well as his work as chair of NY Highways, a Teckal company created by North Yorkshire CC, he has had advisory positions with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation.
He also worked with the Department for Transport's Highways Maintenance Efficiency Programme when it was running, providing advice and writing case studies, and wrote Highways' popular The Insider column.
