Board Members
Boston Town Deal
The Town Deal is led by a board made up of private and public sector representatives, with a chair from the private sector, in line with government guidance. Neil Kempster, Land and Development Director of Chestnut Homes is the chair and Claire Foster, Chief Executive and Principal of Boston College is the vice-chair.
He is Land and Development Director at Chestnut Homes, where he has worked for nearly 20 years. During that time Chestnut Homes have built over 500 new homes in the Boston area and have been involved in numerous public sector funded schemes, helping to attract around £25 million of funding into the borough.
He is currently involved in the delivery of The Quadrant development, a large-scale mixed-use development which includes a new Community Stadium for Boston United, 500 new homes as well as retail, leisure and commercial developments.
Neil is also Vice Chairman of Boston United Football Club, as well as a Director of Boston United Football Club Community Foundation.
As an experienced college leader in further and college-based higher education Claire has a passion for Further Education and the role it can play in transforming lives.
Claire first worked in further education in 1995, teaching diverse groups of adults and students with disabilities as well as A level and Art Foundation studies. Her previous role as Vice Principal at the Grimsby Institute, a large and Ofsted-outstanding college of FHE, included key responsibility for its broad higher education portfolio as well as health and care industries, digital and creative arts and the college’s English and maths provision. Claire has extensive experience in the sector and has developed successful Further and Higher Education visions and strategies.
Nick’s day job is to grow and deliver the Group’s development programme; building homes that people want, where they are needed, and to oversee the ambitious sales programme.
Nick became a Greater Lincolnshire LEP Board Member in January 2019 taking on the mantle of ‘housing guru’.
Andy is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers.
Prior to entering politics, Matt worked for the Daily Telegraph from 1999 until 2015, focusing for most of the period on technology, leading coverage of Facebook, Google and Apple, and covering the launch of products including iPhones, the BBC iPlayer and the Apple Watch, as well as interviewing key figures including the founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, and Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the world wide web.
In the 2015-2017 Parliament, Matt was a member of the Science and Technology Select Committee, and Co-Chaired the All Party Parliamentary Group on Broadband and Digital Communication and Pictfor (The Parliamentary Internet, Communications and Technology Forum).
In January 2018, Matt was appointed PPS to the Rt Hon Karen Bradley MP, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, having previously served as her PPS in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from June 2017. Between April 2019 and July 2019 Matt served as an Assistant Government Whip, before being appointed as a minister in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport serving as the broadband infrastructure minister until 2021.
Matt is now the co-chair of the Future of Work APPG and the Chair of the Data Poverty APPG. The Data Poverty APPG focuses on the issue of making internet and broadband more affordable and accessible to everyone and explores potential long-term solutions to data poverty in Britain.
Matt’s mother-in-law worked for the RSPB at Freiston Shore and his father-in-law was a long-serving science teacher at Boston Grammar School. Matt and his wife Rachel have known and loved Lincolnshire for more than a decade and live between Boston and Skegness with their children.
David has a Masters Degree in Public Sector Management and is a Fellow of the RSA (Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce)
Lincolnshire CVS is a Third Sector support and development organisation, providing services that enable the Third Sector to grow and become more sustainable. Its core functions are:
Capacity building
Supporting volunteering
Enabling Social Prescribing
The charity also delivers ‘proof of concept’ projects that evidence the strengths, versatility and relevance of the sector.
Jacqui has worked in Lincolnshire for the past three years, prior to this she spent 15 years leading and delivering strategic change projects across Hertfordshire. This included the changes to hospital services across the county, the development of the award winning New QEII Hospital Welwyn Garden City and the refresh of the Hertfordshire Health and Wellbeing Strategy in 2016
With a background in the leadership in Further and Higher Education for the Agri-food Sector over many years, Val is a regular contributor to skills strategies and has led several major initiatives to secure investment in skills, research and business support services for the sector.
Val represents the University’s interests as a member of Greater Lincolnshire’s Local Enterprise Partnership’s Employment and Skills Board and as a Trustee of the Lincolnshire Educational Trust.
A passionate advocate for improving access to education for all, Val was awarded the MBE for her contribution to building educational opportunities for the food industry’s workforce.
Nick sits as an active member on the Board of ProCon Leicestershire & was an instrumental part of Team Lincolnshire & the GLLEP launch into MIPIM in 2015 to promote inward investment.
Nick is also the Director responsible for Sustainability & Community engagement for the region and has lead projects such as Lincoln Tank memorial, Trent Bridge Trust Meadows pavilion & Hambo, Get Busy Living centre.
His current position directly involves him supporting a number of key local business support organisations (including the Growth Hub, Greater Lincolnshire LEP, University of Lincoln, Bishops Grosseteste University) as well as organisations with a social and cooperative ethos, such as Community Assets Plus and the Co-operative Development Agency. Simon is also a director of the East Midlands International Trade Association.
Simon has a long history of supporting the set up and development of sector based groups that allow businesses and the public sector to come together to build and deliver coordinated activity that might not happen without such structures being in place. To date successful examples include collaboration in town management, Business Improvement Districts, the visitor economy, place marketing, the food sector and international trade.
Simon has a previous career in commercial banking where he gained sector expertise in the agriculture, horticulture, property and construction as well as supporting businesses to trade internationally. During this time he became an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers.
A member of the Transported Art Management Committee, Public Realm Group & Freeman of the Borough of Boston.
He also attends two council hosted local development panels in a stakeholder capacity.
He joined the Trust in August 2020, having worked in the public sector since 2004.
In his previous role he was a Director in a large national MAT, having been a senior leader in a Lincolnshire secondary school prior to this.
In formal recognition of his extensive experience of both strategic and operational leadership within the sector, Wayne was awarded a Fellowship by the Chartered Management Institute in January 2020.
Favourite Quote: “Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching." - C. S. Lewis
Sandra feels extremely fortunate that she gets to work with various teams and individuals from the public sector, all of whom share her passion for collaborative working, the transformation of services and the desire to ensure our communities continue to thrive in a vibrant and cohesive way across Greater Lincolnshire.
Previous to her current role, Sandra enjoyed careers in both the NHS and the Royal Air Force where her extensive knowledge of working strategically and operationally across multi agency bodies has enabled her to be a grounded yet visionary individual who is open to absorbing new ideas and translating into realistic and Smart outcomes within a solution focused framework.
Tracy said, “I am grateful to the trustees and the team at Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust for the opportunity to be part of the work we have achieved over the last ten years. I am excited to be returning to my home county in the spring, to a charity at the forefront of championing Lincolnshire’s rich and diverse heritage.”
Charles Pinchbeck, Chair of the Board of Trustees, said, “The Trust are delighted that Tracy will be joining us. Her track record at Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust speaks for itself and she comes to us with glowing recommendations from former colleagues and partner organisations. With Tracy’s extensive experience and passion for her native county we look forward to progressing our vital work caring for Lincolnshire’s unique heritage.”
Tracy replaces Greg Pickup, who was at the Trust for nearly three years and was successful in bids for Greyfriars in Lincoln, the Towns Fund in Boston, Skegness and Mablethorpe, and a number of other ongoing projects. Since his departure at the beginning of September 2022 to become CEO of the national Churches Conservation Trust, the Trust has been kept on the straight and narrow by Stephen Roe as its Interim CEO and Simon Johnson whose services are provided on a consultancy basis by Welton House Ltd. The former is the Trust’s longstanding Finance Manager and the latter will remain involved in the business to help with the delivery of the Trust’s ongoing activities, including its £3-million flagship project to restore Greyfriars in Lincoln and re-open it as a wedding, conference and educational centre with an in-house café.
Tracy is due to start her role mid-March 2023.
Nick was instrumental in the development of the initial Transported proposal to Arts Council England. The project aimed to develop a new and innovative programme that reached the least engaged people in Boston and South Holland, and then to develop partnerships to build ambition and appetite for more.
Nick’s role is to work with partners to create projects that respond to the needs and opportunities of the area, making a tangible contribution to ensuring Boston and South Holland is a great place to live, work and visit. Now in the third phase of the ten-year programme, Nick manages the Transported team based at the University, as well as committed and experienced freelance specialists that can bring the capabilities and capacities needed to deliver the full programme of work.
A bit of background:
Nick graduated from North East London Polytechnic in 1982 having studied sculpture, including a residency to learn Bronze casting at Syracuse University. Nick moved to Wales to set up a community project in Lampeter and then on to Lincoln to work for LCA, where he was involved with the first Lincoln Community Play and the development of the Lincoln May Festival, and specifically the spectacular May Day parades.
Nick left LCA to take on the May Festival Coordinator post and then, as co-founder of Dancing Tiger, toured Spain to research festivals and flamenco and to perform a devised visual street theatre piece.
From there he became manager of the artsNK programme, where he oversaw the development of the extensive public realm programme leading to the creation and commissioning of over 200 public artworks and the development of Spires and Steeples and Ridges and Furrows trails across North Kesteven.
As Director of Transported, Nick has relished the challenge of navigating the barriers to engagement by building dynamic and purposeful projects that have created amazing artworks, festivals and arts experiences. He is looking forward to bridging the creative community learning opportunities of the programme with the students and academic staff of the College of Arts and other schools within the University.
Having been at the centre of destination marketing within the county for 15 years, Charlotte has worked her way up through the DMO - from marketing executive to PR director and now chief executive. She has seen our county’s growth and successes as well as its struggles at all levels, building up unrivalled industry knowledge, contacts and an incomparable level of understanding.
Charlotte has direct links to government departments responsible for tourism and joins the Town Deal Board to ensure the levelling up agenda supports this vital sector in Boston and Lincolnshire.
Louise is extremely passionate about ensuring that people do not suffer through a lack of knowledge of their rights and responsibilities or of the services and support available to them. The aim of Citizens Advice Mid Lincolnshire is to help everyone to find a way forward, no matter what problem they face.
'It's a great feeling to be able to help people and to make a difference everyday. Many of our clients have nowhere else to go for advice and support - this is why our service is so important and our team are so passionate about what we do.'
Monday 22nd May 2023.
Cllr Dorrian was the Worshipful the Mayor of Boston for the civic year
2022/23.
Cllr Dorrian was born in the West of Scotland, and lived on the Ayrshire coast
until the age of eighteen when she attended university in Hull. Cllr Dorrian
qualified as a PE teacher 1982, and came to teach in Boston the same year.
Cllr Dorrian settled in Boston and has lived here for 41 years. She worked in a
number of senior roles within education for 40 years. In 2011, she returned to
her first love of teaching and spent the last decade of her career at Haven
High Academy before retiring in August 2021.
Councillor Dorrian was first elected to the Borough Council in 2007 until 2011
and re-elected in 2019 and 2023; and has remained an Independent
Councillor throughout, representing Skirbeck Ward. Councillor Dorrian is a
member of the Boston Town Area Committee (BTAC).
He was a former group plc Chief Executive of a professional premiership football club, Leicester City for ten years, and during his career was also CEO of Portsmouth, Bradford and Boston United FCs. He was also a former Managing Director and owner of an advertising, marketing and PR agency.
He was a former Non-Exec Director of Glenfield Hospital, part of the University Hospitals Trust of Leicester, and also Leicester Sound commercial radio station.
Barrie also served as a former Board Member on Leicester City Challenge, a public organisation to generate inward investment for the city of Leicester.
Barrie currently is Managing Partner of his own business and management consultancy, specialising in turning around loss-making businesses to ensure they are profitable and sustainable, as well as a Director and part-owner of Morgan Lawrence Publishing Services Limited who produce autobiographies for former professional football players and managers.
Barrie also coaches university graduates in preparation of them starting out in a career.
Observers Supporting The Board
Boston Town Deal
Prior to this role she was a Regional HR business partner for a national blue chip company and has also run her own business.
Stephanie, her husband, children, dogs and assorted chickens have been Lincolnshire residents since 2007 and feel privileged to call it home.
Prior to this role she was a Regional HR business partner for a national blue chip company and has also run her own business. Stephanie is Vice Chair of Governors at Boston Grammar School and served as a Parish Councillor for eight years.
Stephanie, her husband, children, dogs and assorted chickens have been Lincolnshire residents since 2007 and feel privileged to call it home.
Warren is a professionally qualified civil engineer with over 30 years’ experience working for both the private and public sectors