Susan Johnson OBE

Susan Johnson OBE was the Chief Executive at County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service until her retirement in July 2015. The appointment meant Susan was the first woman and non-uniformed chief executive to lead a Fire and Rescue Service in the United Kingdom.

Susan previously held the position of Chief Executive of the Northern Business Forum and Executive Director Business Development for the Regional Development Agency, Yorkshire Forward. Susan has held a number of non executive roles throughout her career including Greggs plc, Legacy Trust UK and was a Public Member for Network Rail. She is currently a Commissioner with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (remunerated at £10,000 p.a for 25 days p.a); a Non Executive Director with the Health and Safety Executive (remunerated at £15,000 p.a for 30 days p.a); and the Planning Inspectorate (remunerated at £10,500 p.a for 20 days p.a); and a Commissioner for the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (remunerated at £10,140 p.a for 30 days p.a).

Susan holds a first class honours degree in Business Studies and an MBA from Durham University, where she also serves as a Trustee on the Board. Susan was awarded an OBE for services to New Deal in the North East in 2000.

Philip Kolvin

Philip Kolvin QC is a licensing barrister, and the Head of the public law chambers Cornerstone Barristers. He also sits as a Recorder of the Crown Court. Philip is the author/editor of a number of textbooks in the field of licensing and councillors’ conduct. He is a board member of the King’s College Hospital Charitable Trust and Crystal Palace Park Trust, an advisory board member of the Otherworld Festival and a past chair of the Institute of Licensing, Best Bar None, Purple Flag and the Night Time Commission for London.

David Mackinnon

David is Regional Head of Operations for Jockey Club Racecourses South West Region, incorporating Cheltenham, Exeter, Warwick and Wincanton racecourses. David has enjoyed success as Managing Director at both Windsor and Sandown Park Racecourses and prior to that worked at the sport’s regulatory body (then the Jockey Club) and also spent three years as a trainee chartered accountant with Coopers and Lybrand following the completion of his degree in International Agribusiness Management. David has enjoyed delivering the successful £45m development of Cheltenham Racecourse (completed 2015) and ensures high operational standards across the four racecourses. Cheltenham has 16 race days including The Festival which is the major jump racing Festival in the world. In 2018, it attracted over 265,000 people over the four days in March, making it the fourth highest attended sporting event in the UK.

These roles are remunerated at £265 per day. These reappointments have been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. The Government’s Governance Code requires that any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years is declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation or candidature for election. Susan, Philip and David have made no such declarations.

Rear Admiral Amjad Hussain

Rear Admiral Amjad Hussain’s last military appointments were as Director General Weapons until 2009 and Controller of the Navy until 2012. Since then he has led a UK business unit of a multinational engineering services company and is now mentoring and investing in technology start-ups across a range of sectors, is a Non – Executive Director of a Places for People, a large property management, development, regeneration and leisure company, and is a Trustee of the HMS Victory Preservation Company. A Fellow of the City and Guilds Institute and of London Business School’s Sloan programme, he also holds an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Durham University. He sponsors a school for girls in Pakistan as well as engineering scholarship programmes, and is an ambassador for Mosaic, a Prince’s Trust charity promoting ambition in the young.

Tamsin Todd

Tamsin is CEO of Findmypast and has worked in digital roles and growth businesses for 20 years. She spent the early part of her career at Amazon and then Microsoft, where she led the introduction of ecommerce and search products into UK and Europe. This was followed by stints as Head of Ecommerce at Betfair, Managing Director of TUI-owned Crystal Ski Holidays, and Chief Customer Officer at Addison Lee. She has held several senior volunteer leadership positions for Princeton University, and she founded the Fulham chapter of TEDxWomen.

Matthew Westerman

Matthew Westerman is a Director of MW&L Capital Partners, a private investment vehicle. Prior to the establishment of MW&L Capital Partners, Matthew had been a banker throughout his career most recently at HSBC where he was co-head of Global Banking and at Goldman Sachs where he led its investment banking business in Australasia ex-Japan and in Europe, Middle East and Africa. He is a Trustee and Deputy Chairman of the IWM and a Foundation Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford.

These roles are not remunerated. These reappointments have been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. The Government’s Governance Code requires that any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years is declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation or candidature for election. Rear Admiral Amjad Hussain, Tamsin Todd and Matthew Westerman have made no such declarations.

A 21-year-old man has been successfully prosecuted by the Environment Agency after being found guilty of fishing without a licence in July 2018.

The case was brought to Northampton Magistrates Court on 4 March 2019 where Dillon Rudkin from Coston Road, Melton Mowbray, was proved guilty in his absence and ordered to pay a total penalty of £597.47. An annual fishing licence would have cost just £30.

The penalty includes a fine of £440 plus costs of £127.47 and a victim surcharge of £30 after Mr Rudkin was found in breach of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act (1975) on 25 July 2018 at Lakeview Fisheries, Melton Mowbray.

Following the verdict, Pete Haslock, Enforcement Team Leader for the Environment Agency in the East Midlands, said:

The case shows how seriously the courts take these offences and acts as a reminder to anglers of the importance of having a rod licence. We hope it will provide a deterrent to any angler who is thinking of fishing without a licence.

All of the money raised from rod licence sales is used to protect and improve fish stocks and fisheries, benefitting anglers and, for those caught cheating the system, we will always prosecute.

Every year across the country, thousands of anglers are prosecuted for not having a fishing licence. As well as cheating other anglers, fishing illegally can carry a hefty penalty. Getting caught without a licence could land a fine of up to £2,500.

All income from rod licence sales is used to fund Environment Agency work to protect and improve fish stocks and fisheries, including improving habitats for fish and facilities for anglers, tackling illegal fishing and working with partners to encourage people to give fishing a go.

Any angler aged 13 or over, fishing on a river, canal or still water needs a licence. A 1-day licence costs from just £6 and an annual licence costs from just £30 (concessions available). They are free for those aged 13 to 16. Licences are available online or by calling the Environment Agency on 0344 800 5386 between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday.

The Environment Agency carries out enforcement work all year round and is supported by partners including the police and the Angling Trust. Fisheries enforcement work is intelligence-led, targeting known hot-spots and where illegal fishing is reported.

Anyone with information about illegal fishing activities can contact the Environment Agency Incident Hotline 24/7 on 0800 80 70 60 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

The Civic Campus site will be developed to provide 121 new apartments.