A senior editorial chief who has run three regional dailies is leaving their publisher after 20 years of service.

Reach plc has announced the departure of Darren Thwaites, who is currently a marketplace publisher working on UK-wide strategic projects.

Darren, pictured, has previously edited the Teesside Gazette, Newcastle Chronicle and Manchester Evening News during his two decades with Reach and its forerunners.

His departure comes after Reach unveiled a mass redundancy scheme, with a number of senior editors leaving their roles as a result.  The company has declined to say whether Darren’s role will be replaced.

Darren said: “Over the years, I’ve had the great privilege of working with brilliant editorial and commercial teams across several regions in an industry packed with pace, energy and creativity.

“I’ve learned from the best in the business in gaining the leadership experience needed to become editor-in-chief of Britain’s biggest regional news brand.

“Those experiences have given me a few ideas about what I’d like to do next and I’m very excited about taking on some new opportunities and achieving new goals.

“I’m thankful to Reach and all my colleagues for the success we’ve shared together.”

Darren initially joined Trinity Mirror as editorial development manager in 2003 and was editor of the Gazette between 2005 and 2011.

While at the Middlesbrough-based Gazette, he served launch editor of Gazette Live in 2006, the first website brand of its kind that has since become standard in most of Reach’s UK regions.

Under his leadership, the Gazette was twice named the best website in Britain and launched an innovative series of postcode-driven hyperlocal sites.

Darren then went on to edit the Newcastle Chronicle and serve as the group’s North-East editor-in-chief before a 2018 restructure brought about his move to the MEN.

He eventually relinquished the day-to-day editorship of the MEN to Sarah Lester and has held his most recent role since last year, reporting to chief operating officer Alan Edmunds.

Alan said: “Darren has been a superb leader and a wonderful colleague. He leaves with our tremendous thanks and very best wishes.”

Reach chief digital publisher David Higgerson added: “Darren has been a leading figure not just within Reach, but within regional journalism, as it has reinvented itself for online platforms over the last decade.

“His passion for making sure newsrooms in Newcastle, Teesside and latterly Manchester embraced new digital storytelling tools to make sure great journalism was read by as many people as possible helped shape the way many newsrooms beyond his own now connect with readers online.

“On a personal level, it’s been a privilege to work with someone as committed, curious and determined as Darren for over a decade.”

Darren is also a former president of the Northern branch of the Society of Editors and has served as a trustee of several charities including the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund, which distributed more than £20m to survivors and bereaved families of the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing.

The current round of redundancies at Reach has seen 426 journalism roles placed at risk, with 150 of the job losses to take place across its Live network of regional news titles, In Your Area hyperlocal network and central and customer teams.

Other high-profile editorial departures since the plan was announced include Hull Daily Mail editor Jamie Macaskill,  Teesside Gazette editor Ian McNeal, Burton Mail editor Julie Crouch, and Adam Moss, who edits the Leicester Mercury, Coventry Telegraph and Northants Live.