Having been leader of Craven District Council for eight occasionally turbulent years, Chris Knowles-Fitton is now leaving the job and the Dales. He looks back at the highs and lows of his time at the top.

HIS time as leader of Craven District Council has encompassed such challenges as foot and mouth disease ravaging the district and the fallout from the discovery of a massive hole in the authority's finances.

In the same period the "top" of Skipton's High Street has been transformed, with the prospect of more changes to come at the historic but neglected town hall, the Tour de France has come through the area to great acclaim and a flood alleviation scheme could open the way to a new business development south of Skipton.

Chris Knowles-Fitton is now moving from his home near Appletreewick to start a new life in Devon, and giving up his role as leader of the ruling Conservative group on Craven District Council - and thus the lead role for the authority.

It is a position he first assumed in 2000, when the then leader was taken ill and Cllr Knowles-Fitton found himself taking over as a particularly virulent outbreak of foot and mouth hit Craven - "a salutary and humbling experience".

A Dales Recovery Appeal, set up by the Craven Trust and backed by the council, raised more than £1 million. "We were giving money out on the basis of people needing it and needing it soon," said Cllr Knowles-Fitton.

In 2002 the Conservatives lost control, and did not regain it until 2008, after it had emerged there was a financial "black hole" in the council's accounts. The authority then faced finding £2.5 million in savings over the next two years.

"I got quite a lot of credit for what appeared to be quite tough decisions," said Cllr Knowles-Fitton - though he said some of those decisions, such as ending a CCTV scheme which had never been very effective, were perhaps less difficult than they seemed.

The financial situation was stabilised following significant cutbacks, though he said: "It prompted a much greater contribution from the officers who remained, because a lot of them weren't being stretched."

Achieving stability at the council allowed it to start focusing again on projects to improve the district. These have included the Albion Place retail scheme in Skipton's High Street, and plans are taking shape to revitalise the nearby town hall. "We are now putting serious money into it and I hope we will get the big lottery bid funding, there's no reason why we shouldn't," he said.

Also in the pipeline is a major flood alleviation scheme which would pave the way for a new business area to be built south of Skipton.

Meanwhile the town has won an accolade for its High Street and been declared the best place in the country to live. "I think Craven is in a better state in all sorts of ways than when I started. Quite how much credit I can take is up to other people to judge, but I go back to the expression I use, I'm the stick that pokes the fire," he said.

A less happy episode has been the departure in August of former council finance chief Joanna Miller, which has led to questions being raised at an extraordinary council meeting from which the public were eventually excluded. "It's an issue that I simply can't discuss," he said, adding this was due to agreements made between the council and Ms Miller when she left the authority.

Cllr Knowles-Fitton is due to leave all this behind for Devon on October 15, stepping down as leader on October 30. He will remain as a councillor until May next year, saying this is to avoid the expense of a by-election. "I think a change of leadership will stop any sense of complacency, if indeed there is any."

Taking over as interim council leader is Cllr Richard Foster, the former deputy leader. "I think if I had to give one piece of advice it would be, don't be in a rush to solve problems. If something crops up just wait until the dust settles.

"I think if I have done something sensibly it is making sure, if you have got this sort of responsibility, you have got some sounding boards, people you can go to who lean over your shoulder and say: 'Hold on, don't be a prat. You are not so important, it's the institution'."

Denying any suggestion he might have been 'pushed' to leave, Cllr Knowles-Fitton said he had lasted longer than many other regional council leaders. He said: "I have managed to survive, I can go out on my own terms."

Of the council's present staff he particularly praised council chief executive Paul Shevlin, with whom he said he had a strong rapport, and communications and partnerships manager Sharon Hudson, who took a prominent role in the arrangements for the Tour de France in Craven. But Cllr Knowles-Fitton is not only leaving his council role; the move to Devon will also mean moving from a particularly scenic corner of the Dales. He said: "Of course I'm going to miss it, it's part of my DNA. But life moves on. We have been privileged to live here."

Looking back, he said: "I have enjoyed it; we need new faces and young faces."