Keith Glazier
Chairman

Keith started work in local government as a Parish Councillor in early 1990s and was then elected to Rother and East Sussex County Councils.

 

He has been the Leader of ESCC since 2013 and lead on Strategic Management and Economic Development.

 

Keith also chairs SE7 (Brighton, Medway, East Sussex, Hampshire, Surrey, Kent, West Sussex) a group of Councils working together where improved service or cost savings can be made.

Ian Ross
Vice Chairman

With extensive consultative, production and management experience in both the subsidised and commercial arts sectors, Ian’s work since 2004 has been under the umbrella of B&R Productions Ltd, the company he co-founded in 1999.

 

From 2007, in his capacity as Executive Director at the Jasmin Vardimon Company, he has mainly focused on developing JVC’s international touring profile and securing their base at Ashford in Kent, from which he has brokered the necessary partnerships between local authorities and funding bodies to spearhead the company’s current £ 6 Million Capital project to develop the Jasmin Vardimon Dance Laboratory and Creation Space. The project is now under construction with a planned opening in 2022

 

In an innovative initiative to bring the creative industries to new audiences Ian has recently developed a corporate relationship between Jasmin Vardimon company and the MacArthur Glen Designer Outlet in Ashford. This has seen the company relocating their temporary offices and training space to the Designer Outlet retail units and offering a cultural and well-being offer to staff and customers alike. Supporting MacArthur Glenn in their provision of enhanced retail experiences has been mutually beneficial to both organisations 

 

In 2016 Ian secured B&R Productions’ commission by Eastbourne Borough Council to deliver on their proposal for Devonshire Collective, a cluster of re-purposed retail units in Devonshire Ward, Eastbourne forming a café gallery, workshops and maker spaces.

 

Since 2018 Ian has worked with youth music charity AudioActive supporting their business development and assisting them in finding a home, working with local authorities alongside other major stakeholders including Arts Council

 

From 2008 – 2014 Ian led B&R Productions’ development of the award winning School Creative Centre in Rye, East Sussex, a multi-disciplinary studio facility with a performance space, a gallery, workshop and print room.

 

For more information please visit: www.bandrproductions.co.uk

Gina Sanderson
Director

Gina began working with the voluntary sector in Rother in 1997 when she joined Rye and District Council for Voluntary Service. She later led the 2006 merger with Bexhill Community Partnership and Battle and District CVS to become Rother Voluntary Action until 2010 when she transferred to the post of CEO.

 

Originally trained as a teacher Gina worked for a number of years as a Field Manager in market research. Moving to Sussex in 1986 her interest in the voluntary sector began with an involvement in the local playgroup and PTA.  Gina now lives in Peasmarsh and is a Parish Councillor.

Peter Turner
Director

Peter has always lived in the local area and worked within the building industry, including the family builder’s business.

 

He worked in Local Government where he qualified as a Chartered Town Planner until retirement.  His time in Local Government was spent with Local Authorities in Kent and he held senior branch positions in both NALGO and its successor Unison, but not as a ’political’ activist. 

 

He has a long held interest in the local community, having been Secretary to the Gardener’s and Allotment Holders Society and the New Hall Management Committee and vice-president of the Cricket Club.  Peter  first became a Parish Councillor in the late 1960’s and has been a councillor at various times since, as his career permitted. 

 

Peter is a director of the Icklesham Parish Community Land Trust a Community Benefit Society open to all residents of the Parish who share its objectives.  It is currently working on a project to build 15 units of accommodation in Icklesham, at affordable rents for local people.

Tony Hills
Director

I fell in love with the Romney Marsh when as a young lad spending my summers at my grandmother’s bungalow on the coast at Greatstone. Being a keen fisherman I used to cycle to Dungeness to go fishing.

 

Over the years I realised how unique the Romney Marshes were…the geographic marsh from Hythe to Rye. I have spent the last twenty five years trying to defend them from flooding…the ‘Gift from the Sea’.

 

Currently I serve as a Kent County Councillor for the Romney Marsh Division. Folkestone & Hythe District Councillor for the Walland and Denge Marsh, Lydd Town Council and the Harbour of Rye Advisory Committee.

Jo Kirkham
Director

A long serving independent member of Rye Town Council and Mayor from 1979-82 and is Chairman of Rye Castle Museum, Rye Grammar School Foundation Governors and Rye & District Council for Voluntary Service and a Director of Rother Voluntary Action.

 

Previously taught at Thomas Peacock Community College and Brighton University.

Chris Hoggart
Director

Chris Hoggart is a retired Chartered Chemist who has spent a forty-five year career in environmental management.

 

Towards the end of this career, Chris operated at board level in multi-national environmental consultancies as both a departmental director and Regional Managing Director with 100-plus staff and a budget of more than £7 million.

 

Chris’s environmental experience extends across a wide range of sectors including nuclear, industrial and commercial companies and local and national governments. He has worked in many different countries including several in western, central and eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Asia and South and North America.

 

Since moving to Rye in early 2017, Chris has become increasingly involved in the community becoming a town councillor and chair of trustees of the Rye Heritage Centre charitable organisation as well as the local Speedwatch Coordinator.