The chief executive of Norfolk County Council-owned Norse Group has resigned, with personal reasons cited for his departure.

Dean Wetteland, chief executive of the group since 2018, left the company with immediate effect at the end of November, after tendering his resignation.

A spokeswoman for Norse said Mr Wetteland, who had been with the company for 17 years, tendered his resignation for personal reasons and to take time out to spend with his family.

Set up as an arms-length company by County Hall, Norse provides a range of services in England and Wales, including facilities management, property services and residential care homes.

The Norse spokeswoman said Nick Frogbrook, deputy chief executive officer and Justin Galliford, chief operating officer of Norse Commercial Services, are sharing the interim chief executive role while recruitment takes place.

Eastern Daily Press: Fiona McDiarmid, chair of Norse Group.Fiona McDiarmid, chair of Norse Group. (Image: Supplied by Norfolk Community Foundation)

Norse Group chair Fiona McDiarmid said: "We have every confidence that Justin and Nick will continue to lead from the front and will keep Norse Group moving successfully forward during this period while we permanently recruit the right person to lead our business."

She said the recruitment process would start in the new year.

She said: “In the meantime, Norse Group remains in a solid trading position, and we continue to win new contracts, while we are successfully reshaping some of our joint venture partnerships to future proof them for our local authority partners."

While Norfolk County Council has contracted Norse to maintain the county's roads, the company has lost some significant contracts in the region in recent years.

Norwich City Council is taking services it had contracted to Norse back in house, as is East Suffolk Council with waste services.

In the summer, a judge in the Technology and Construction Court said Norse and its partner Beattie Passive would have to pay £500,000 to a company they tried to sue over homes built in Sussex - which subsequently had to be demolished due to their poor standard.

Norse said Mr Wetteland's departure was not linked to that.

Meanwhile, the recruitment situation is complicated in that Ms McDiarmid's term as chair is about to end, so recruitment will not start until she is replaced.

Andrew Proctor, leader of Norfolk County Council, said: “We respect Dean’s decision to resign and I’d like to thank him for his leadership of Norse and its performance over the last few years.

"We are recruiting a new chair and as soon as they are in place, we will start the recruitment of a new chief executive officer.”