Chairman, Finance Committee, Neighbourhood Plan and Local Plan Matters

My husband and I moved from London to Gretton in 2015. We were enthralled by the sense of community and the vibrancy of the village, as well as the beautiful surroundings and friendly people.

I currently work for a global investment bank, based in London. My career has enabled me to bring several skills to the Parish Council, such as project management, business analysis, negotiating skills at various levels, and team building.

Having been part of the Neighbourhood Plan Committee I was offered the opportunity to learn a lot about the village and its surroundings – it was a steep learning curve, but one that was very worthwhile. Once the Plan successfully went through referendum in 2021, I felt that I would like to continue my work to serve the community and the natural progression was to become a Parish Councillor.

Working for the Parish Council is sometimes challenging, but mostly rewarding. The work is time consuming but the ability to support and serve the community brings a sense of purpose. I am passionate about the village and its residents and want to do my best to enable the community to develop sustainability and continue to be a place to live that offers the opportunity for friends and families to remain in close proximity, or embrace newcomers to enhance what is already here.

Vice Chairman, Finance Committee Recreation Ground, Friends of Gretton Recreation Ground Committee

I have lived in Gretton for over 30 years and have served on the Parish Council for 20 years. My children attended Gretton Primary School and I have always tried to play an active part in village life. I work as a Chartered Surveyor and Agricultural Valuer providing advice on a wide range of rural property and business matters, including planning and development, and am able to contribute my technical knowledge and experience across many issues that have to be considered by the Parish Council.

During my service to the Parish Council, I have chaired the committee for preparation of the original Parish Plan in 2005, and am also chair of the Friends of Gretton Recreation Ground responsible for obtaining the funding and building of the Multi-Use Games Area, installation of the play areas and extension and refurbishment of the Sports Pavilion. My aims are to continue the improvements on

the Recreation Ground and provide further equipment and facilities to enhance the activities for a wide range of users.

We are entering a new era with the inauguration of the new North Northamptonshire Council, and backed by our Neighbourhood Plan, I will work hard to ensure that the Parish Council has an effective voice, and is a strong force in protecting the environment and heritage of the village from excessive or inappropriate development whilst striving to maintain and improve the facilities, services and infrastructure to ensure that the village sustains a mixed and vibrant community.

Highways Working Group

Having been born in Gretton some 56 years ago I have seen many changes to the village over the years, some for the better and some not, I have seen people come and people go, all adding to the diversity and caricature of our homestead.

I have served as a parish councillor for the past 17 years, as a police liaison and pocket park representative, I enjoy the decisions and challenges we face as a council to keep our parish and village the idyllic area we have all come to love.

After settling down with my wife Susan 25 years ago, Susan too has fallen in love with the area having previously travelled the world.

I have a family history of building and farming within the village dating back generations and we are very passionate about the village and the direction various people and organisations try to steer it.

Hopefully I can carry on serving as a councillor and trying to help steer the village in the direction the people of Gretton want it to go.

Community including buses, doctors surgery, school liaison

I have lived in Gretton for over 20 years with my family and am a keen supporter of local village businesses, events and organisations.

Following my election to Gretton Parish Council in May 2021 I was pleased to take on the role of Community Liaison working in particular with the village school, the bus service and the doctor’s surgery in addition to the wider role of Parish Councillor.

I visit the school regularly and last autumn worked with the children to raise awareness of speeding and parking issues in the vicinity of the school and around the village. I was asked to judge their colouring competition and a number of winning entries have since been displayed around the village. I attend their School Council, listen to any issues they wish to raise and liaise with the Parish Council to assist where we can.

I have also led on the initiative to have a clothes bank located in the village which supports an amazing charity, the North Northants First Responders. This has been very well-received and during January 2022 420kg of clothing was collected!

The Parish Council continues to support the Welland Wanderer Bus Service, and has committed to its share of required finding for 2022-2023

As a Parish Councillor, I continue to offer commitment and a willingness to work in the best interests of the village and the Parish to ensure it remains a great place in which to live.

Finance Committee

Barring a short stint at university I have lived in Gretton all my life (35 years) and I’m already involved in other village organisations as a player for Gretton Cricket Club and as Secretary of Gretton Sports & Social Club. Professionally I work as a Business Analyst for Oxford University Press based in Kettering although like many others, I’ve been homeworking for the past year.

To me Gretton is more than a collection of houses on the side of the Welland Valley, Gretton has an historic sense of community that as villagers we are proud of. Inevitably times do change as old friends leave and new faces arrive in the village but that community spirit remains, to my mind the Parish Council contributes towards this in the way it works alongside other individuals and village groups which combined together create our unique community. This is the primary reason I wish to join the Parish Council as I wish to represent and provide support to those who efforts make our community what it is.

Sports and Social Club

I have lived in Gretton for nearly 4 years and love living here as in many ways it reminds me of where I grew up. This and being able to walk my son to school was one of the many reasons for moving here. I can be found on the school playground most days. I have two

children who live with me and my wife Emma. My son is in Year 1 of Gretton school and my daughter attends UCC. I also have 3 children who live in Oxfordshire who visit very regularly.

I decided that after a lifetime of taking it was time to put something back into the community. I started to be involved with Gretton Sports and Social club after the AGM in February 2020 and am now the Chairman. The hard work of the committee has enabled the club to survive, so money and resources can be put back into the community once again.

In my professional life I’m Vice President of International Sales for a North American company, so I’m well travelled and would bring a breadth of business experience. I feel I can bring something different to the parish council and enable it to adapt and embrace change when required but also fight to maintain the parts that make the village great. I intend to be visible and open to ideas from the village.

Youth Council

In 2010 my husband and I were fortunate enough to move into Fulwell Avenue. We moved from Kettering and it was one of the best decisions we have made. I was familiar with the village spending many a weekend here with my grandparents and since moving here I have established many friendships. I am actively involved in community events, helping where I can. I love to walk my dog around the area and learn about the history of the Village.

In a professional capacity I am a Global Business Optimisation manager for Bosch Home Appliances in Customer Service. I feel that the skills I possess are relevant qualities that supports the role of a Parish Councillor. This includes budgeting, leadership, team working and communication.

As a Parish Councillor, I aim to maintain my pragmatic approach to situations and remain objective when dealing difficult situations. I establish relationships easily and remain impartial when presented with conflicts of interest. Communication is really important to me, and in my experience, when advising people of an outcome it is received better when providing the rationale behind the decision.

I am an active listener and try to remain well informed of things that may impact locally. Any issue or idea brought to my attention by anyone within the community will be acted upon. It is important to me that all members of the community feel that their input is valuable and as a parish council we strive to continually improve the quality of life in the village.

Environment including trees, Pocket Park, litter collecting groups, Welland Valley Partnership, Parish Path Warden

After graduating from Brunel University’ I ran my own construction company and worked in London for many years. I moved with my family to the area in 1986, continuing to work within the building industry.

My wife and I have now lived in Gretton for over 20 years, enjoying our life together in the village with our families and all of our children attended UCC. I was a governor there for five years and my wife was teacher at the college.

I have become increasingly drawn towards environmental issues and developed a commercial woodland project with the Forestry Commission for 20 years, successfully Coppicing an area of Wakerley Woods. This led to me becoming a Director of the National Coppice Federation. I continue to work with many such groups in this area. At present I am concluding, for the year, a tree planting project which has been a focus, during the recent interesting months.

This interest fits with my activities in Welland Mayfly Fishers, fishing club in Harringworth, where I also organise maintenance work and projects connected with the river.

I was part of the group involved in producing our Neighbourhood Plan. I am a founding member of Greener Gretton. I am outspoken and determined to work, in whatever capacity, for the good of our village. I feel very strongly that there is much that we have to do as a community to preserve and improve the quality of life for everyone living locally.

Chris is our newest Councillor taking over from Julie Smith who decided to leave Gretton Parish Council following a number of years service.

We wish Chris the very best of luck in this post and are confident his input and support will prove valuable for the Parish community.

Parish Clerk

I joined Gretton Parish Council in September 2023