Western Bay of Plenty District Council’s chief executive John Holyoake has opened up about his decision to resign.

Holyoake resigned on Monday and will finish at the council on April 20

Holyoake joined the council in July 2021, replacing Miriam Taris, who had held the chief executive role from 2014.

He took on the council’s top job after six years as chief executive at Tamaki Regeneration Company – the largest urban regeneration project in New Zealand.

Sitting at his local café in Ōmokoroa on Thursday, Holyoake is relaxed wearing jeans, sneakers and a council branded polo.

He told Local Democracy Reporting leaving the council was something he had been thinking about for a while.

In December, he spoke to Mayor James Denyer about his plans and was initially going to leave mid-year but reevaluated things during the Christmas break.

“There’s never a right time to do it so in the end I decided to do it for me.”

Being a chief executive for 10 years “takes its toll”, he said.

Holyoake said he doesn’t have another job lined up which is “scary” but he’s on a number of boards so will continue that work.

The chief executive said he has valued the culture and energy of the council and the passion they have for people.

He said he was proud of the relationships the council had built with mana whenua during his tenure.

Denyer said in a statement he had valued Holyoake’s insight and advice over the past four years and wished him well in his “future endeavours”.

“He has guided our council during a time of significant change, and I thank him for what he has achieved.”

An interim chief executive will be appointed while the council works to fill Holyoake’s position.

The chief executive sub-committee met on Wednesday to discuss the interim appointment

The process to select a new chief executive would come as the council prepared for the local government elections in October.

Marty Grenfell, of neighbouring Tauranga City Council, said he had enjoyed working with Holyoake as a fellow chief executive in the Bay of Plenty.

“John brought a lot of energy and new thinking to the sector and challenged the status quo with a view to achieving better outcomes for the community.”

Holyoake plans to spend time on the golf course and make the most of Ōmokoroa and the wider region with his wife Sara before deciding what to do next.

- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.