Following a full external recruitment process, Seaford Town Council is pleased to announce that Steve Quayle has been offered and accepted the permanent role of Town Clerk.

As chief executive officer of the Town Council, this is a vital and highly impactful appointment, and one which requires a broad range of skills and to be comfortable operating in a publicly visible role.

Steve Quayle has been with the Town Council for six months in the post of Interim Town Clerk. Prior to this, Steve spent over a decade at East Sussex County Council, leading the records and registration service, which included responsibility for over 120 staff and holding statutory proper officer duties. Steve also brings a wealth of transferable skills and experience from roles held in the private sector and as a self-employed business owner.

Since joining in October 2024, Steve has brought energy to the Town Council and had to hit the ground running on a number of complex pieces of work, carrying these out with pragmatism and tact. As well as leading the significant volume of day-to-day operations, governance and project delivery, the focus going forwards will be the implementation and embedding of the revised staff and committee structures, and the review of the Town Council’s 2023 – 2027 Strategic Plan.

Speaking on the appointment, the Mayor of Seaford, Councillor Sally Markwell, said: “I am delighted that Steve Quayle has been appointed. Having provided an extremely impressive application, he has clearly demonstrated he has the aptitude and capacity to undertake this role”.

Receiving the news that Full Council had ratified the appointment, Steve’s response was:

“I am delighted to be taking on the permanent role of Town Clerk for Seaford, and would like to sincerely thank Councillors for this opportunity to step up as the Chief Executive Officer for the Town Council.

 Having acted at the Interim Town Clerk for the last 6 months I am very well aware of the wealth of opportunities and multiple challenges facing the Town Council as we move forwards, and I very much look forward to continuing my work towards the continuous improvement of Seaford.

 I have a first rate team of officers to support me as I take over this role - all of whom come into work every single day to do their utmost best to improve the lives and environment of the people of Seaford.

 The impending reorganisation of local government means that Town and Parish Councils stand on the precipice of a sea change regarding the responsibilities and duties we will become responsible for. As the largest town in Lewes District and the second largest parished town in the county these changes will be significant for Seaford and there is much work to do.

 I cannot wait to get started and I can promise the residents, visitors and businesses of the town that my team and I will always work our hardest to provide the best possible service to Seaford.”

The Town Council would like to thank Spotlight HR, who provided external HR consultancy support to the recruitment process, and to those other applicants that expressed an interest in and took part in the process.