Councillors

Photo of Clare Kiely
Clare Kiely – Chair  Email Clare   For over thirty years I have loved living in Great Waldingfield and want to make sure that the village remains a special place to live in the future. In order to help this happen I have been involved in the Neighbourhood Plan from the beginning and as Chair for the last few years.  Many of you may know me already because of the three beautiful alpacas that we own and currently I make things out of their fleece and, with my background in teaching, run all kinds of workshops here in the village.

 

 

 

Gail Baxter – Vice Chair  Email Gail  Hello, I’m Gail. I was born and have lived in Suffolk all of my life and in Great Waldingfield for 40+ years.  I was previously a teacher for children with severe learning difficulties. Now my main interest is in wildlife and conservation. I also enjoy walking, gardening and reading.

 

 

Pete Berry  Phone: 01787 375853    Email Pete    I live in Braithwaite Drive. I’ve been a resident of the village for roughly 25 years and have tried to be an active parishioner. Whilst my 3 daughters were at the school I was a parent governor for 6 years, my grandson now attends the school which I’m delighted about.  For a number of years I was a committee member of the Friends of St Lawrence Church, raising funds for the upkeep of the building.  I am a member of the village Horticultural Society and I attend as many village events as possible, from the school fayres to the Xmas tree light turn on, and from Branchlines quiz nights to the Church afternoon tea.  My hope for the village is that whilst growth is inevitable, we keep our village community spirit and the feel of a small village with distinct boundaries between us. I’m proud to live in this village with its wonderful pub and terrific school. It has a spirit of its own.

David Harris  Email David   Since my retirement, where I worked for 32 years in Local Government managing a Highways Department, I continue to have an interest in local council issues and have regularly been involved with the Parish Council.  Although a car and motorbike enthusiast, I am concerned about the level of speeding, traffic and Highways issues around our village and am keen to try and address these. I enjoy village life and greatly appreciate our open spaces and country environment.  I have had family ties to the village for 30 years and have lived here for 7 years and feel that it is important to ensure that Great Waldingfield is maintained as a safe and pleasant place for everyone to live in and enjoy.

 

Christine Hutton  Email Christine   I am married with one daughter and have lived in the village for 23 years.  Recently retired from Social Service  as a Independent Well-being Practitioner, supporting people at home. Now retired l would like to continue to support people within the village.

 

John Evans

 

John Evans. jevans.gwpc@greatwaldingfield.uk   I have lived in Great Waldingfield since October 2018 having moved from Burnham on Crouch, Essex. Although now retired my career primarily centred on the management of property, estates and facilities in the public sector, my last employment was with CAFCASS. Over the years I have enjoyed volunteering for many community organisations and, although now moved, continue my association with the Maldon Stroke Support Group. As a parish councillor, which is a more defined role not just focusing on one aspect of the community but being at the heart of the village, I hope I can help support , sustain and maintain its identity in an ever expanding environment.

Jan Spackman. jspackman.gwpc@greatwaldingfield.uk  I have lived here, in Heath Way, for 20 yrs with my husband Lee and now with our 14 year old granddaughter, she came into our full-time care 3 year ago due to very sad circumstances.  I am passionate about our village and its people living here.  I worked in the NHS for 25 years and have just retired from working for a private care company for the last 10 years.

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Nigel Leonard. nleonard.gwpc@greatwaldingfield.uk

My wife and I moved to Great Waldingfield in August 2023 from Essex. Prior to this we were regular visitors to this part of Suffolk for many years but it is only recently that a change in circumstances has enabled us to make a permanent move to the village and we plan to make this our long term home.  I currently work in the NHS and have held a variety of project and management roles over the last 33 years. I am currently a Director in an NHS Trust in Essex and amongst other duties I led the Covid-19 vaccination programme for the Trust across both Suffolk and Essex.   We have met some wonderful people in the village already and as my retirement approaches in a couple of years I want to become more involved and hopefully I can continue to utilise some of my skills and experience.

Mark Freeman –  Clerk  Phone: 07922 336386    Email Clerk and/or Parish Council   I have lived in Cavendish since 2017 and became GW Parish Clerk on 6 June 2023.  I was a Councillor on Cavendish PC and familiar with Suffolk village life.  With children at Lavenham Primary School and TGS the drop off and pick up run has made me too familiar with our rural roads and potholes!  The Clerk role is part time but I aim to be in the office in the village hall most mornings.

 

 

Membership of Committees and Working Groups (WG)

  • Action Plan WG – all Parish Councillors
  • GW Neighbourhood Plan Steering Committee – Cllrs Berry and Kiely.
  • Finance Committee –  Cllrs Kiely and Harris.
  • HR and Complaints Committee – Cllrs Baxter, Hutton, Kiely and (tbc).
  • Village Hall Management Committee (VHMC) – Cllrs Evans, Harris, Hutton and Spackman

Councillor and other volunteer representative(s)

  • The Francis Humphrey and Margaret Braithwaite Allotment Trust – Cllrs Hutton and Kiely.
  • Biodiversity – Cllr Baxter.
  • The Chilton Woods (Maiden-Fields) – nil.
  • The Community Speed Watch Scheme – Cllr Harris.
  • Events – Cllrs Baxter and Berry.
  • Footpaths – Dr David Taylor, local resident.
  • Media – Cllrs Kiely and Hutton.
  • Planning  – Cllrs Harris and Kiely (with Cllr Baxter on standby).
  • Playground – Cllrs Spackman and Berry
  • Suffolk Association of Local Councils (SALC) – Cllr Kiely.
  • Tree Warden – Dr David Taylor, local resident.

Register of interests

Gail Baxter,

Peter Berry, 

John Evans

David Harris,  

Christine Hutton

Clare Kiely

Jan Spackman

Nigel Leonard

Local Government Association Model Councillor Code of Conduct 2020

#ROI #registerofinterests

District

Great Waldingfield is in the Lavenham Ward and is represented at Babergh District Council by Margaret Maybury and Paul Clover. :

County

At the County level Great Waldingfield is in the Sudbury East & Waldingfield Division, and our County Councillor is Philip Faircloth-Mutton.