FOLLOWING his appointment to the top job at Thamesdown Borough Council in October 1996, Paul Doherty described his task in hand to the Evening Advertiser.

He said: "I am certain that my job is to ensure that we provide high quality services. If we don't do this as a unitary authority, then the hopes and ambitions of the council and the population will come to nothing.

"They have the vision of the future and I have to implement it. Everyone's hopes and ambitions have to be realised."

It is unlikely that, six years on from that interview, the vision Mr Doherty had for the future was his departure following two dreadful external reports on his two biggest departments.

Lancashire-born Mr Doherty worked on four London borough councils, the last as chief education officer, before moving to Swindon to settle with his Swindon-born and bred wife, Nina.

He has made grand statements over the years, many of which are still yet to be achieved. The Mechanics' Institute was empty and crumbling when he arrived. It's now in an even worse state.

The council has twice bid for Swindon to become a city and failed, it has made countless promises to rejuvenate the town centre, re-build the central library, bring Old Town's businesses back to life and find a future for other historic buildings like the Locarno in Old Town.

All of this and more was supposed to be achieved alongside the council's day-to-day priorities of delivering quality education and social services.

The council has faced many challenges in that time: a shortage of resources from central government has not helped, as well as the £40m pension fund debt it inherited from Wiltshire County Council.

But one of the sharpest criticisms that sums up the leadership difficulties came late last year from the council's external auditors, who said the council's ambitions were beyond its means. It effectively told the council it was deluding itself.

So perhaps that attitude explains the introduction on the council's website, which reads: "Famed for its railway heritage, Swindon is adding a vibrant present and exciting future to its solid past. The Borough Council, created as a new unitary authority in 1997, is responsible for setting the pace for Swindon's growth and development. It is a town with the industry, education, infrastructure and environment to have genuine city aspirations."