Knowsley Council’s long-serving chief executive Mike Harden announced his retirement after ten years in the job
13:57, 12 Jan 2025Updated 13:57, 12 Jan 2025
Knowsley Council outgoing Chief Executive Mike Harding. (Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
The chief executive of one Merseyside council knows exactly who to thank for his rise through the ranks – his wife. It was a touching admission from a man reflecting on a long career and contemplating his next move.
After ten years in the role, Knowsley Council’s long-serving chief executive Mike Harden announced his retirement late last year and sat down with the ECHO to reflect on his tenure. He will be stepping down at the end of this month and the council has already found his replacement – formally appointing James Duncan who will take over in February. Until then, Mike is treating every day just like every other day.
He couldn’t have timed his announcement any better, coming just one week after Knowsley Council won the prestigious ‘Local Authority of the Year’ award at last year’s Municipal Journal Awards. A panel of nine judges decided the winner and said Knowsley was ‘visibly making a difference to the area it serves’.
None of this seemed possible in his twenties – he had just dropped out of university and was enjoying life working in bars and restaurants in and around Liverpool city centre. He said he finally got serious about his career when he met a girl from Liverpool and fell in love. He said: “I’m married to that girl now so I always say she made me what I am.
“I soon started work at Sefton council in a temporary job who wanted me to do some training. I had to pay for it myself and if I passed the exam they’d give me the money back. Finally, I moved onto Knowsley and the rest is history.”
Cllr Graham Morgan, Leader of Knowsley Council with Mike Harden, Chief Executive of Knowsley Council(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Mike has worked at Knowsley since 1997 and held a number of roles before finally taking the top job. His appointment as chief executive made headlines back in 2014 when he was hired on reduced wages – part of the council’s attempt to find £26m in savings. Mike said: “We were a failing council and you see councils in similar situations these days that go down.
“Regardless of the circumstances, it was an attractive position and it would be for any local authority. But it wasn’t a fantastic time and there were complex problems to attend to straight away. Our population had been in decline for quite a period of time. We knew people-focused services would always be a challenge – including adult social care – and children services still is challenging.
“The problem that loomed large over everything was austerity and the huge cuts to council budgets across the country. It impacted everyone but hit harder in deprived areas like Knowsley.”
A general view of Kirkby town centre(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Nonetheless, despite the challenges Knowsley Council has maintained a stable budget and managed to make significant interventions in the borough. Over the last decade, Mike Harden has overseen a variety of regeneration projects including the redevelopment of Kirkby Town Centre, the purchase of Huyton shopping centre and the rejuvenation of Prescot – including the creation of the hugely popular Shakespeare North Playhouse.
Mike said: “When we started, we had ideas for regeneration, but I’m not sure whether we really believed in ourselves so we changed that. With austerity it would be easy and natural to hunker down, hide in the corner and wait to see what happens. We rejected that approach and we wanted to stand up and be as bold as possible.
General view of the new £38m Shakespeare North Playhouse, in Prescot Liverpool, home to the only 17th-century, timber-built ‘cockpit’ theatre outside London.(Image: Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)
“When we said we were working on the Shakespeare North Playhouse, lots of people said ‘don’t you think you should be spending money on things like schools and housing rather than a opening a new theatre?’ My response was ‘why can’t you have both?’.
“The population of Prescot has grown on the back of the Shakespeare North Playhouse and people are incredibly proud of it. It has brought so much to the town and Merseyside as a whole. One of the most important things we’ve got in the city region is the passion of the people and their love for the place they live. If you go to Kirkby, the people of Kirby are fiercely defensive of Kirkby. The same in Huyton. The same in similar areas across Merseyside.”
Huyton Village shops.(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
Asked what he will miss most, Mike is very clear – the people he works with and every council worker who contributes their time, hard work and dedication to improving the borough. He said: “It’s been a pleasure and an honour working here. I’m proud, massively proud, of everything that we’ve done. I’ve been hugely supported by our council workers, the councillors and numerous cabinet members who are all very supportive people.
“But my abiding memory is the people who live here. Their humour, their directness and their pride in the places they live. There’s no apathy, none whatsoever, and you could understand that in a deprived place. But no, we don’t get that. People know what their communities need and know they deserve the best – they’re absolutely right.”