A SECOND key member of Brighton and Hove City Council is to leave his job.

The council’s head of sustainability, Thurstan Crockett, follows finance chief Catherine Vaughan out the door.

Mr Crockett led the council’s work on sustainable development, tackling climate change and reducing the city’s ecological footprint.

His departure comes a month after The Argus reported Brighton and Hove City Council was ranked 302 out of 326 for recycling performance in the country – reusing just 26.8% of its waste.

The council’s Green administration made a promise in its election manifesto in 2011 that 70% of all domestic waste would be recycled in the city by the end of its current term in office – May 2015.

The council said Mr Crockett’s exit was part of a “planned change” and it knew about it “for some time”. It stressed employees “naturally” leave and join organisations at certain times in their careers.

A council spokesman said: “Following ongoing reviews of services in the council, Thurstan Crockett‘s departure is part of a planned change and has been known about for some time.

“Employees will naturally leave and join organisations at certain times in their careers, as is the case for both Thurstan and Catherine Vaughan. We value their contributions to improving services for the citizens of Brighton and Hove and our good wishes go with them in their new ventures.”