Our Leadership Team
Our permanent leadership team provides the skills and experience to lead the Directorate through the ever-changing demands that we face.
Ross Cook
Corporate Director, Economy & Environment
Roger Allonby
Service Director, Economy And Growth
Hi, I am Roger Allonby the Service Director for Economy and Growth. I have the best job in the council – an opportunity to help shape the future of our great county through leading services such as economic development, housing development, development and strategic Planning, and a wide range of regulatory and technical services such as environmental health, licensing and trading standards. I also have the privilege of leading the development of a new £18m new Museum and Art Gallery which will help transform Hereford city centre. Herefordshire is a very special place, with an amazing natural environment, a great sense of community, and unrivalled heritage and culture. I particularly enjoy working with the people across the services I lead, and the partners I work with, who work with great enthusiasm, passion and commitment to making a difference to the people who live and work here.
Outside of work I spend most of my time either chasing after, or being chased by, my two young sons (Johnny and Will) and watching Star Trek and Star Wars every chance I get….
My portfolio includes the following services;
Economy and Regeneration – Leading in the implementation of the Herefordshire Economic Plan, providing business advice and support through the Herefordshire Growth Hub, implementing various grant schemes, supporting tourism and town centres and leading the development of employment land and inward investment to the County, including the Hereford Enterprise Zone which has created thousands of new jobs for local people.
Planning – Strategic planning and neighbourhood planning setting the long term land use policy to create the places we want and need. Development Planning enabling the development of the county, ensuring balance with the environment and communities. Building Control ensuring developments are safe for people to live in.
Regulatory Services – Environmental Health, Trading Standards, CCTV, Licensing and Gypsy and Traveller services making sure that our communities are safe for all that live and work here.
Technical Services – providing key local services such and operating the crematorium and cemeteries, and operating our markets and city centre.
Mark Averill
Service Director, Environment and Highways
I am the Service Director for Environment and Highways. I joined the council in April 2022 and was immediately impressed by the “can do” attitude of the teams that are a part of the directorate. The services we provide, from grass cutting through to road resurfacing, from street cleansing to household waste collection and disposal, from ensuring the preservation of our built environment to the installation and promotion of sustainable solutions, are all undertaken by dedicated teams and partners. Our aim is to ensure that Herefordshire remains an attractive place to work, invest and to enjoy our amazing countryside. Our people are our business.
I enjoy the diversity of my role, swapping between hard engineering solutions to pioneering works to create wetlands that help to reduce pollution in our rivers. The work is fast paced, incredibly interesting and rewarding. I balance this in my private life by spending time with my family and friends, visiting local, and not so local, attractions, cycling when time permits (though mainly indoors) and working on my Land Rover, itself a full time job if I were to allow it.
