THE leader of Cotswold District Council is quitting the role after more than 10 years at the helm.

Cllr Lynden Stowe has announced that he will be stepping down as leader when members gather for their annual meeting on Tuesday, May 16.

The Conservative, who has led the council since 2006, says he only originally envisaged spending three years in the role and is looking forward to having "a few more days off" and devoting more time to his own business interests.

“It’s been an honour and a privilege to lead the Council," he said. "When I took over as Leader from Cllr Julie Girling in 2006, I originally planned to do the job for about three years and then hand over the baton to someone else.

"I have obviously stayed a lot longer than I ever imagined, principally because I enjoyed the many challenges which the role presented.

“During the last 11 years I have always done what I thought was best for the people of the Cotswolds to ensure that it is a great place to live, work and visit."

The Conservative group will now elect a new leader and Cllr Stowe says he envisages a "smooth handover" to his successor.

Although he is stepping down as leader, he will continue to represent the Campden and Vale ward as a councillor.

Reflecting on achievements during his time as leader, Cllr Stowe said: "One of my key aims was to keep down the cost of council tax, and I take great pride in knowing that bills for council tax payers are about the same as they were when I first became leader – in fact, in real terms, residents have enjoyed a reduction of 33 per cent.

"We’ve also frozen charges for car parking and garden waste collections for about six years now.

"It’s important that we enable taxpayers to keep as much money as possible in their pockets – and, hopefully, these price freezes have allowed residents to spend more with local businesses."

He said the reason for charges being kept down is that – at a time when government funding has been reduced dramatically – the council has become "one of the most efficient local authorities in the country".

"The advent of joint working with other authorities – most notably West Oxfordshire – has enabled us to make significant savings without any detriment to the quality of our services," he added.

He also praised residents for their willingness to recycle and hailed the area as a "world class visitor destination", attracting an increasing number of tourists from all over the world.