One of Kent County Council's most senior officers has quit after just a year in the job.

Adam Wilkinson, KCC's managing director of environment and regeneration, said he was leaving for family reasons.

He was responsible for Kent's roads, the environment, waste and planning and a £135million budget. His departure, which was not widely expected, was announced on Thursday.

It comes as KCC faces a range of potentially sensitive decisions affecting the county's transport network and the way in which it deals with waste. It is also deliberating over scaling back spending on a number of road schemes and whether to push ahead with a controversial lorry park to deal with Operation Stack.

KCC has not yet appointed an interim successor and a full-time appointment is unlikely to be made before the end of the year.

Mr Wilkinson, who was on a six-figure salary, was appointed to the job in June last year after five years working for Rotherham council. He succeeded Peter Raine.

At the time, he was described by KCC chief executive Peter Gilroy as one of local government's rising stars. Despite working in Kent, he commuted to and from his Yorkshire home at weekends.

Mr Wilkinson, who is understood not to have another job to go to, said: "This has been an enormously stimulating and exciting period in my career. However, it has not been possible for me to relocate my family to Kent.

"I have found the combination of living apart from my four daughters during the week and travelling the six and a half hours home at weekends, placed alongside giving my full attention to what is a demanding role is not sustainable. I have decided, therefore, that my family must come first."

KCC chief executive Peter Gilroy said: "We are very sorry that Adam is leaving so soon after he joined us - but respect his decision that it was not sustainable for him to be apart from his young family."

Cllr Keith Ferrin, KCC's cabinet member for highways, said: "I regret that Adam is leaving but understand why he has reached the decision he has."