TORFAEN council has confirmed its ‘strategic officer for resources’ will take over as its finance chief. 

Andrew Lovegrove was appointed as the strategic director in September but the outgoing deputy chief executive, Nigel Aurelius, still holds the Section 151 Officer post as the chief financial officer. 

Mr Aurelius is set to retire on January 31 but will hand over the Section 151 post to Mr Lovegrove on December 2, after he has signed off the council’s most recent set of accounts. 

He told councillors, who had to formally approve Mr Lovegrove’s Section 151 appointment, the director meets the legal requirements as a qualified accountant and a member of a professional accountancy body. 

Mr Aurelius told the November meeting: “Andrew will be just the third Section 151 officer since Torfaen County Borough Council came into existence in 1996. My predecessor did close on 10 years, I’ve done close on 20 and I think that stability has served Torfaen well.” 

The council’s presiding member, Fairwater Labour councillor Rose Seaborne, said of Mr Aurelius: “I remember when he took on the job.” 

Mr Strong left the meeting during the discussion. His salary band is £93,776 to £102,000 a year and Torfaen Borough Council said in September no decision has been made on the deputy chief executive post. 

It was agreed, earlier this year, chief executive Stephen Vickers would fulfil the same role at neighboruing Blaenau Gwent council on a trial basis.