Leisure chief takes time-out

YORK'S "Mr Leisure", Paul Chesmore, is taking early retirement after 15 years in the top job.Mr Chesmore was the first person to be appointed as leisure services director after the position was created by York City Council in 1983, and he remained in the post on the creation of the City of York Council a couple of years ago.On his appointment, there were virtually no indoor facilities in the city, and Mr Chesmore has since led and overseen a revolution in leisure provision, including the opening of:The Barbican Centre;Oaklands Sports Centre;Community centres in Tang Hall, Foxwood and Burton Stone Lane.He has also led a successful bid for lottery money to build a new bridge over the River Ouse to celebrate the Millennium, and has spearheaded a drive for lottery cash to refurbish Rowntree Park and the Castle Museum. He says people in York now quite rightly take for granted what was not available in the early 1980s.Mr Chesmore, who is married and lives in Skelton, was ill for many weeks in the autumn because of a virus, but says he has recovered well and his retirement is unconnected."I am 50 this year and I just think it's time to do something else," he said. He retires on March 31.