Shropshire Star

Former Shropshire Council leader Keith Barrow excited at new job

Former Shropshire Council leader Keith Barrow has taken up a new job days after quitting his post.

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Keith Barrow has taken on the role of commercial director at newly-launched Oswestry agency BH Inspire.

Mr Barrow, who stepped down as Shropshire Council leader on December 4, has taken up his position with immediate effect.

Creative director at the agency, Asa Bailey, said: "We're excited to have Keith working with us. He's obviously well-known in the area and is the perfect fit for us while we continue to build the agency."

Mr Barrow, from Trefonen, near Oswestry, joins a team of five which will cover social media, design, marketing, sponsorship, PR and video.

He said: "I'm delighted to be appointed as commercial director at BH Inspire. I had a number of offers after stepping down from the council, but this one excited me the most.

"BH Inspire is a start-up agency, so I've got the opportunity to make the role my own and have a positive impact on the direction of the business."

The agency is the brainchild of film-director Mr Bailey and Mid Wales entrepreneur Mike Harris who wanted to centralise their own business marketing functions.

Mr Bailey added: "We saw a gap in the market, not only to service our own companies, but to offer the same service to others.

"We have all of the creative marketing specialities under one roof, so it's ideal for businesses who don't have that facility in-house.

"We take on work on a project-by-project basis and we also have clients on a retainer. Our flexibility and the range of expertise we have under one roof is our unique selling point."

Mr Barrow, 62, stepped down from his role at Shropshire Council in a surprise move just weeks after he was found to have breached the council's code of conduct over the declaration of a business interest. He resigned from all council involvement with immediate effect.

Mr Barrow, who had represented the Oswestry South ward since 2009, said he was proud of his time leading the authority but that his motivation had "wavered in recent months".

The new job puts paid to speculation that he may have stood as a candidate for West Mercia's Police and Crime Commissioner post, or even bid to become the new chief executive of Shrewsbury Town Football Club.

After the resignation, Malcolm Pate, who was ousted from his role as leader of the council by Mr Barrow in 2009, was nominated as the new leader of the Conservative administration.

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