Most of my working life has been related to developing childcare and family support services, in particular Sure Start Children's Centres. That's where my real passion lies. I moved to Emsworth 10 years ago from Southsea and became involved in community action through the Emsworth Neighbourhood Forum. Seeing how difficult it was for people wanting or needing to live in the area, a small group of us set up the Emsworth Community Land Trust. At the same time, we saw the ‘for sale’ sign go up at the Cottage Hospital site. We got involved in the campaign to save the site for the GP surgery. It just shows what can happen when the community comes together, with a plan; and now I have come full circle, becoming the Chair of the ERF.
Mike was brought up locally in a naval family and went to Portsmouth Grammar School. He qualified as a building surveyor and project manager and is interested in all aspects of the built environment. Since leaving his practice in London he has been a trustee of the Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust alongside other enthusiasms including community groups in Emsworth where he has lived with Anne since 2016.
Ellie spent her early working life involved in the training and development of young people, eventually becoming a Director of Sussex Training and Enterprise Council. She then set up and successfully ran a management consultancy company. She is taking the lead for the ERF on Young People and hopes that the number of meaningful activities for Young People in Emsworth can be increased.
Mike moved to the south coast from Leeds in 1968 , anticipating a short stay but has been here ever since, moving to Emsworth in 1971. He and Jenny brought up their two sons in Emsworth, with them both attending local schools before they headed north for university and their careers. He spent nearly forty years in what was to become the University of Portsmouth and for the last half of his career was in the senior management team, as the Pro Vice-Chancellor responsible for the university’s building programme and other support functions. On retiring from the University in 2005, he was Chair of the Environment Agency’s Southern Regional Flood and Coastal Committee. He has been a governor of a number of schools and colleges, and most recently was Chair of HSDC, formed through the merger of Havant College with South Downs College in 2017, then Alton College in 2019. He was Secretary of the Emsworth Neighbourhood Forum. He has oversight of the planning brief for the ERF, chairing the Neighbourhood Planning Working Group, and liaising with the local authority on planning issues.
Dan first visited Emsworth in 1972 and has been a regular visitor since then, eventually retiring here in 2015. A statistician by profession, he taught in universities in the UK and USA and worked as a consultant in the automotive and aerospace industries, helping engineers to use statistics effectively in design and production.
