Lucy Townsend

Lucy Townsend was appointed Chief Executive of Wiltshire Council in August 2024, following a decade of leadership roles at the authority.

Lucy brings more than 26 years of experience in Local Government, beginning her career in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in social work and management.  She then worked at Swindon Borough Council and North Somerset Council before starting with Wiltshire Council in 2014 as Head of Safeguarding and Assessment.

Between September 2017 and March 2020 Lucy was Director of Families and Children’s Services before being appointed to Corporate Director People in July 2020.  She held the statutory role of Director of Children’s Services and is extremely proud that the council achieved an Outstanding Ofsted rating in December 2023.

Lucy was the Sector Led Improvement Lead for Association of Directors of Children’s Services for two years until she became the chair of the South West ADCS.

In her spare time, Lucy used to love playing hockey until injuries got the better of her. She also enjoys spending time with her family, walking the dogs and gardening.