Leader of Ashfield District Council Jason Zadrozny chairs cabinet and clarifies 'stepping back' remarks

The leader of Ashfield District Council has chaired the authority's cabinet meeting and clarified recent comments over his "stepping back" plans.

Councillor Jason Zadrozny (Ash Ind) attended the meeting on Monday (September 20) just days after confirming plans to take a step back from some responsibilities.

The council leader cited health reasons for stepping away from parts of the role but has insisted he will be "back in charge fully" once he has recovered.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service following the cabinet meeting, Cllr Zadrozny confirmed he recently emailed all councillors asking them to contact relevant cabinet members with their concerns.

It comes as he delegates some of his work to the cabinet to ease work pressures.

However, he insisted he is still "entirely running the council".

He said: "It's fairly simple, I'm a bit unwell at the moment and I just needed to take a bit of time to concentrate on that.

"I'm entirely running the council still, but while I've got some health concerns, I'm delegating a fair bit more.

"I wrote to all councillors earlier this month asking them to contact the relevant cabinet member, rather than coming to me for every little thing.

"I think [me stepping down] is wishful thinking from some of the opposition, but no, I am here and as soon as I'm back on full form they'll know I'm back in charge fully."

Cllr Zadrozny, who represents the Larwood ward, will also be in attendance at Ashfield District Council's full council meeting on Thursday (September 23), as well as the Nottinghamshire County Council meeting on the same day.

He said last week he expects to be "back to full speed" within the next one to two months.