Malcolm Bennie (pictured above), Chief Officer for Citizen, Culture and Facilities at West Dunbartonshire Council will become the Director of Place Services at Falkirk Council from January 2022.

The role will see him provide strategic leadership across the newly established directorate which includes growth, infrastructure and climate, environment and operations such as Roads, Waste Collection and Street Cleaning, as well the new Invest Falkirk division responsible for up to £1 billion of project work.

As a key member of the Council’s Leadership Team he will support the Chief Executive in delivering the Council of the Future vision, and champion innovation and transformation across Place Services.

Malcolm Bennie said: "I'm really excited to be given this opportunity to join Falkirk Council and work with Elected Members, the Chief Executive, and the leadership team to shape the organisation, and the future of one of the fastest-growing areas in Scotland.

"Throughout my local government career, I have been committed to doing everything I can to improve the lives of local residents. In this inspiring new role I'll be doing that by focussing my energy on economic recovery, growth, investment, service transformation, climate change as well as the delivery of excellent services to our communities.

"I am looking forward to working with my new colleagues to continue to build strong local partnerships with the communities, key partner organisations and local businesses. Working together gives us the best chance to overcome the challenges that the Council faces, and maximise the obvious potential and advantages of the area. And all the time I will be supporting the Council's commitment to put the citizens at the heart of everything we do."

Councillor Cecil Meiklejohn, Leader of Falkirk Council said: “This new role is really critical to help develop the Falkirk area and we believe Malcolm is the right person to deliver this for our communities.

“His public sector background will undoubtedly give him the experience to deliver on major issues such as economic regeneration and climate change.

“It is a big remit but the time is right to embrace the potential that our area has to grow and enhance our economic prospects.

Wealth of experience

Malcolm has worked in local government and for the NHS for the past 16 years.

His current role at West Dunbartonshire includes responsibility for a range of services including libraries, customer service, school catering, facilities management, arts and heritage, and community planning, as well as a number of major capital investment projects.