Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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Appointment of board members to West Northamptonshire Development Corporation
Four members of the West Northamptonshire Development Corporation board (WNDC) have been reappointed for a second and final term of three years.
Mary Burrows, Nick Thompson and Councillor Sandra Barnes (South Northamptonshire District Council) have all been reappointed as board members with John Weir reconfirmed as Deputy Chair.
In addition two new members have been appointed to the Board. Councillor Anthony Woods has been appointed as a nominated representative of Northampton Borough Council and Councillor Richard Church as a nominated representative of Northamptonshire County Council. Both have been appointed for a term of 3 years.
Minister for Communities Iain Wright said:
"The WNDC is vital for regeneration and the delivery of much needed homes within the Milton Keynes South Midlands growth area. With four experienced existing board members retained and two new first class candidates joining the board, I am sure these appointments will help drive forward this important work for the benefit of the entire region."
Keith Barwell, Chair of WNDC said:
"Firstly I would like to thank Phil Larratt and Arthur McCutcheon for their work on the board during its initial stages. Both did a brilliant job and they both now retire from the board. They are replaced by Cllr Anthony Woods and Cllr Richard Church. I look forward to working with them, both of whom I know are anxious to play a role in the sustainable growth of West Northamptonshire. I am pleased that John Weir, Mary Burrows, Nick Thompson and Cllr Sandra Barnes have been re-appointed to the board".
WNDC was established in 2004 to drive forward regeneration, improved infrastructure, investment and sustainable growth in the towns of Northampton, Daventry and Towcester in the Milton Keynes / South Midlands growth area. As part of the Milton Keynes / South Midlands growth area, West Northamptonshire aims to deliver 47,000 new houses and 37,500 new jobs by 2021.
Notes to Editors
1. The following board members and the Deputy Chair have been re-appointed for a second and final term of 3 years:
* John Weir (Deputy Chair);
* Mary Burrows;
* Nick Thompson; and
* Councillor Sandra Barnes from South Northamptonshire District Council (nominated). Remuneration will be at £11,560 for 3 days per month for board members and £34,344.20 for 2 days per week for the Deputy Chair.
2. The following board members have been appointed for an initial term of three years:
* Councillor Anthony Woods from Northampton Borough Council (nominated);
* Councillor Richard Church from Northamptonshire County Council (nominated).
Remuneration will be at £11,560 for three days per month.
3. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process (non-nominated candidates). However, in accordance with the Nolan recommendations there is a requirement for appointees' political activity (if declared) to be made public. Brief biographies for those who have been appointed and reappointed are below: John Weir (Deputy Chair) - Reappointed for three years
Raised in Derby, John is a qualified architect subsequent to his studies at Newcastle upon Tyne and Nottingham Universities. He has spent most of his career in the development and housing industry and was a main board director of Wilson Connolly a then national house builder. Here he launched a house building subsidiary, The Lifebuilding Company, specifically to address the sustainability agenda.
In 2002 he established his own consultancy, Haute Future. It advises on the design and marketing of sustainable developments, develops innovative products associated with the construction industry and advises on housing related programmes for television and radio.
John sits on the board of Design for Homes (a not for profit organisation promoting good housing design) and is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts.
John lives near Daventry, is married and has two adult children.
Political Activity:
John does not hold any other ministerial public appointments and has declared that he has not been involved in political activity over the past 5 years.
Mary Burrows - Reappointed for three years
Mary is Chief Executive of the North East Wales NHS Trust. Her experience and knowledge of health and social care systems in the United States, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom respectively provides useful and necessary expertise to the Board.
After graduating from University in 1978, Mary trained and practiced as a medical technologist specialising in microbiology and haematology before taking on management of pathology services in 1982. In the mid 1980s she moved into hospital management.
Since settling in the UK in 1990, Mary spent ten years at the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust in senior management positions, six years as Chief Executive of Northampton Primary Care Trust and six months with the Department of Health, Social Care and Public Safety, Northern Ireland on health and social care reform before she was appointed Chief Executive at the North East Wales NHS Trust in 2007. She has been a contributor to national policy through previous work on the Health and Safety Commission's Health Services Advisory Committee, the Department of Health (England) policy boards and committees and in her current role, the Welsh Assembly Government.
Mary holds a Bachelor of Science in Bacteriology and Public Health from Washington State University, USA (1978), a Masters in Business Administration from University of Leicester, England (1995) and a Masters in Medical Law (LLM) from the University of Wales in Cardiff (2001).
In 1996, Mary was awarded an honorary MBE in recognition of her work on risk management in the NHS, an honour afforded to very few Americans and something of which she is particularly proud.
Political Activity:
Mary does not hold any other ministerial public appointments and has declared that he has not been involved in political activity over the past 5 years.
Nick Thompson - Reappointed for three years
Nick Thompson is a qualified Chartered Surveyor and retired in 2004 as Director and Head of Fund and Investment Management at Prudential Property Investment Managers Ltd.
He chaired the ABI Property Investment Panel from 1999 to 2004 and actively contributed to various property industry forums to promote the advancement of property as an investment asset with Government and the Bank of England.
He is Chairman of:
ING UK Real Estate Income Trust Ltd.;
Investment Property Databank Performance Analysis Consultative Group; Property Panel of the Association of Investment Companies;
Additionally Nick is a Director of the Lend Lease Retail Partnership and the Cambridge International Land Institute.
Through these and other roles he has been actively involved in all aspects of commercial property investment and development and brings those skills to the Development Corporation to help deliver the sustainable regeneration of West Northamptonshire.
Political Activity:
Nick does not hold any other ministerial public appointments and has declared that he has not been involved in political activity over the past 5 years.
Cllr. Sandra Barnes - Reappointed for three years
Sandra Barnes has lived in South Northamptonshire for over 30 years. She has been Leader of South Northamptonshire Council since 1999 and is Ward Councillor for the Tove Ward. She chairs the Northamptonshire Councils Association. Sandra has had a long-standing interest and commitment to the Health Service and was a non-executive director for over twenty years. She was Chairman of her local Primary School and continues as a Governor. She has also served as a Parish Councillor.
Sandra is a member of the United Kingdom Delegation to the Congress of Local Authorities and Regions at the Council of Europe, and is Vice President of the Local Authorities Social Cohesion Committee, and is a rapporteur for Municipal Policing and Trafficking in human beings. She has observed municipal elections in the former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia.
Sandra's background is in Community Development.
Political Activity - Conservative:
Obtained office as a Local Councillor, MP, MEP etc X
Stood as a candidate for one of the above offices X
Spoken on behalf of a party or candidate Acted as Political Agent
Held office such as Chair, Treasurer or Secretary of a local
branch of a party
Canvassed on behalf of a party or helped at election X
Undertaken any political activity which you consider relevant
Made a recordable donation to a political party
None of the activities above apply
This member holds no other Ministerial Appointments.
Cllr. Anthony Woods - Appointed for three years
Tony Woods is the Leader of Northampton Borough Council. He has been a Councillor since 2003 representing St David's Ward, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on the Council since 2005 and Leader of the Council since May 2007.
Tony Woods is a Chartered Engineer specialising in industrial automation. He has a degree in Electrical Engineering from Southampton University and an MBA from the Open University. He led a research and development team developing innovative automation systems. He has also worked in Germany for a major Japanese corporation where he restructured their sales and support network for industrial automation products. His work now includes design, marketing and consultancy - particularly advising companies of the impact of new technology on their businesses.
Political Activity - Liberal Democrat:
Obtained office as a Local Councillor, MP, MEP etc X
Stood as a candidate for one of the above offices X
Spoken on behalf of a party or candidate X
Acted as Political Agent X
Held office such as Chair, Treasurer or Secretary of a local X
branch of a party
Canvassed on behalf of a party or helped at election X
Undertaken any political activity which you consider X
relevant Made a recordable donation to a political party
None of the activities above apply
This member holds no other Ministerial Appointments.
Cllr. Richard Church - Appointed for three years
Richard Church was born in Northampton and has lived there most of his life. He has a degree in politics from Reading University. Richard is a former director of the family business Church's China, one of Northampton's oldest established family retail businesses. Richard has been the Borough Councillor for Kingsthorpe since 1983 and is currently the cabinet member for Regeneration, he is also a former Mayor of Northampton. Richard is the County Councillor for Kingsley in Northampton and former Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on both the county and borough council. Richard has served as a member of Northampton Borough Council's planning committee and represented the Council on the Northampton Area planning committee of WNDC, and has taken a particular interest in planning and regeneration issues. He is also a former Parliamentary and European Parliamentary candidate for the Liberal Democrats and former chair of East Midlands Liberal Democrats.
Political Activity - Liberal Democrat:
Obtained office as a Local Councillor, MP, MEP etc X
Stood as a candidate for one of the above offices X
Spoken on behalf of a party or candidate X
Acted as Political Agent
Held office such as Chair, Treasurer or Secretary of a local X
branch of a party
Canvassed on behalf of a party or helped at election X
Undertaken any political activity which you consider relevant X
Made a recordable donation to a political party
None of the activities above apply
This member holds no other Ministerial Appointments.
4. Powers of the WNDC:
The statutory powers and objectives of Urban Development Corporations (UDCs) such as the WNDC are set out in section 136 of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980. A UDC's objective is to secure the regeneration of its area. This is to be achieved in particular through:
* bringing land and buildings into effective use
* encouraging the development of existing and new industry and commerce
* creating an attractive environment and
* ensuring that housing and social facilities are available to encourage people to live and work in the area.
For the purpose of achieving the regeneration of its area, the WNDC may:
* acquire, hold, manage, reclaim and dispose of land and other property
* carry out buildings and other operations
* seek to ensure the provision of water, electricity, gas, sewerage and other services
* carry on any business or undertaking for the purposes of regenerating its area and
* generally do anything necessary or expedient for this purpose, or for purposes incidental to those purposes.
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