The commencement next Monday of Dan Boyce into the Chief Officer Sustainable Development position is another step closer to finalising the new executive leadership team for Armidale Regional Council.
Dan has worked in local government for almost 20 years, commencing his career in Sydney over a 10 year period before heading to the bush for roles in Moree and Narrabri.
His most recent experience has been working with the NSW Government on the Narrabri Special Activation Precinct and Moree Special Activation Precinct (SAP).
"These activation projects have reinforced for me the value of investing time and resources in good strategic land use planning to manage growth and enable development," said Mr Boyce
"I'll be bringing my learnings from the SAP projects to Armidale and I'm looking forward to building on some of the good work that Council has already done in this space."
Dan is looking forward to his move to the Armidale region with his wife and two sons and is eager to expand the lifestyle opportunities that will now be available to his family.
"The Armidale region is such a fantastic area and the lifestyle is really second to none," said Dan
"For my wife and I and our two sons we're looking forward to being a bit closer to our family on the coast and all the local sporting opportunities of a bigger regional centre.
There are numerous challenges ahead for Armidale Regional Council as it embarks on a 'Back to basics' agenda after a period of considerable instability.
"From my perspective there is nothing more crippling to an organisation than being in a constant state of flux," said Dan
"From the outside looking in this seems to have been the story at ARC in recent times and that really holds back good staff from delivering for their community. Initially, I'm looking forward to working with the team to get back to basics and deliver our core land use planning and regulatory functions with a focus on providing excellent customer service.
"In the medium term it's important that we work with the new councillors and the community to articulate a clear land use vision for the region over the next 20 years. This will be essential if we're to manage the challenges and seize opportunities of the coming decades. But, we're starting from a position of real strength, because Armidale is an absolute gem of a place. We've got a fantastic lifestyle proposition for those looking to relocate from the major cities so our challenge and our opportunity is to be open for growth while preserving and enhancing what makes the region such a great place to live."
Dan's recent personal achievements that he is most proud of include completing an Accelerated Free Fall course and obtaining his Solo Skydiving Licence.
