Trustees

Short biographies of the nine members of Cambridgeshire ACRE’s Board can be found below. Board members each take responsibility for one of the key rural issues that Cambridgeshire ACRE works on. Their choice usually reflects a special interest in the subject matter, either through their experience of living and working in a rural community, their ‘day job’ or other trusteeships that they hold.

John Yates (Chair)
John is Chair of Cambridgeshire ACRE, a position he assumed in November 2006. John has a particular interest in Affordable Rural Housing and so is Rural Champion for this subject. Prior to this he had a long career in the NHS and the Department of Health, mostly in planning and procurement of new hospitals and facilities and the disposal of redundant land and buildings. John is a City of Ely councillor, a director of Ely Perspective and a Churchwarden at St Peters Church, Ely.

David Spreadbury (Vice-Chair)
David is currently a Vice-Chair of Cambridgeshire ACRE, having stepped down as Chairman in November 2006, a role he held for 9 years. He is also a member of the Board of National ACRE. His career was in education administration. Subsequently his business links were with the NHS interviewing for senior posts and working with Addenbrookes Hospital as a Convenor for Independent Reviews. David is the Rural Champion for Rural Poverty and Deprivation.

Hazel Williams (Vice-Chair)
A board member since 1994, Hazel is currently a Vice-Chair of Cambridgeshire ACRE. She is an East Cambridgeshire District Councillor and has been a parish councillor in Burwell since 1981. Hazel was elected vice-chair of the National Association of Local Councils in 2008. She chairs the board of Age Concern Cambridgeshire and is also a board member of Burwell Community Print, Burwell Day Centre and the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Association of Local Councils. She has been a governor of Bottisham Village College for 24 years, continuing her interest in education from her years as a teacher. Hazel is one of two Rural Champions for Rural Voice and Community Engagement.

Mike Hellowell (Treasurer)
Mike joined the Board in 2006. He is the Chairman and Founder of Eurotech International Group Ltd in Cambridge, specialising in supplying internationally, scientific instruments, didactic systems and complete technical/medical laboratories to research, industry and high educational establishments. Mike is Chairman of Horningsea Parish Council and is one of two Cambridgeshire ACRE Board Rural Champions for Rural Economy and Skills.

Anthea Davidson
Anthea was a member of East Cambridgeshire District Council from 2003 until she stood down at the last election in May 2011 following eight years of public service. Since retiring from local politics, Anthea now has more time to concentrate on running her PR consultancy where she has a broad-based client list which includes companies in the electronics, leisure and corporate entertainment industries. However, she continues to maintain an interest in rural issues, particularly the provision of affordable rural housing. Anthea sits on the regional management committee of Sanctuary Housing Association.

Brian Hayes
Brian has been a trustee of Cambridgeshire ACRE since 1999 and is one of two Cambridgeshire ACRE Board Rural Champions for Rural Economy and Skills. Brian is also Chair of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Association of Local Councils, Chair of the East of England Association of Parish and Town Councils, a Littleport Parish Councillor and chairs the local youth steering group. Prior to retirement, Brian ran his own consultancy service specialising in infrastructure design and supervision and before that he was Operations Manager at Anglian Water Authority.

Terry Jordan
Terry has worked in of local government in Cambridgeshire – at all three tiers - for more than 30 years, giving him considerable experience of public-sector legislation and services. His particular specialisms are Democracy, Electoral Services, Licensing, Community Engagement and a variety of aspects of partnership working.

Hugh McCurdy
Hugh is currently Archdeacon of Huntingdon and Wisbech and joined the Cambridgeshire ACRE Board in 2009. He has a special interest in community buildings and acts as one of the Board’s Rural Champions in this area. In his day-job, Hugh has responsibility for the care of the clergy and church communities in the north and west of the diocese. He is also occupied in practical and legal matters such as parish boundaries, diocesan finance, clergy housing and reordering of church interiors.

Elizabeth Stazicker
Elizabeth’s professional career was spent in English local government archives, and she was Head of Heritage and County Archivist for Cambridgeshire County Council for eleven years. She is currently Archivist for Ely Cathedral and the King's School, Ely. She is also Vice Chairman of Mepal Parish Council and Chairman of the Stained Glass Museum at Ely Cathedral. Elizabeth is one of two Rural Champions for Rural Voice and Community Engagement.

Geoff Taylor
Geoff has been on the Cambridgeshire ACRE Board since 2002. He is a self-employed solicitor, but also works part-time for the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Service. His main areas of practice are constitutional law, education and employment law. Geoff is also a trustee of his local village hall in Coton. Given this particular interest, he acts as one of the Board’s Rural Champions in the area of community facilities.