by political editor Paul Francis

A cabinet reshuffle at County Hall has seen the politician in charge of Kent’s roads lose his job.

Cllr Nick Chard (Con), the former cabinet member for highways, has been replaced in the job by his deputy, Cllr Bryan Sweetland.

The reshuffle has taken place ahead of a major re-organisation of the way Kent County Council is run, which will see the introduction of new directorates.

Cllr Chard is the most significant change in the make-up of the new cabinet, which was announced by KCC leader Paul Carter today.

Although he declined to make any comment, in a message to staff and colleagues, Cllr Chard said: "It has been a pleasure and a privilege to be cabinet member for Environment Highways and Waste during the last 18 months.

"It has been an exciting time; two very cold winters with heavy snowfalls, thousands of potholes repaired, the start of the East Kent Waste agreement, two successful rail summits, great strides in environmental sustainability and a reduction in road casualties that exceeded government targets.

"We achieved an improved service and increased customer satisfaction through a real team effort. I would like to include my personal thanks to staff in addition to the many compliments from Kent residents.

I wish my successor well. He will have similar challenges which officers, I know, will successfully take in their stride."

As the politician in charge of roads, Cllr Chard has overseen the council’s efforts to tackle the huge number of potholes that have blighted many areas following successive harsh winters.

Although the initial "find and fix" approach was regarded as a success, with thousands of potholes filled following the widespread damage caused to Kent’s roads last winter, the more recent bad weather has triggered concerns over a new spate.

More recently, he has been involved in drawing up KCC’s blueprint for rail travel under the new franchise due to be awarded in 2012.

The full cabinet is as follows:

Leader: Cllr Paul Carter

Deputy leader: Cllr Alex King

Finance and Procurement: Cllr John Simmonds Business Strategy and Support: Cllr Roger Gough Customer and Communities: Cllr Mike Hill Educationa and Learning: Cllr Sarah Hohler Environment, Highways and Waste: Cllr Bryan Sweetland Regeneration and Economic Development: Cllr Kevin Lynes Families and Social Care: Cllr Graham Gibbens Specialist Childrens Services: Cllr Jenny Whittle