Meet...

John Turnbull, Cheshire Branch Chairmain

John’s background is in science and computing. He began his career as a science teacher at Ulverston Comprehensive School and after gaining a degree in Applied Physics and Electronics, from Lancaster University, he joined British Nuclear Fuels as a Control and Instrument Engineer, remaining with the company for some 30 years.

When he took early retirement in April 2003, John looked for opportunities to put his expertise back into the community, and was soon co-opted onto the Parish Council in his home village, Barnton, rapidly becoming engrossed in the affairs of the local Memorial Hall, and ending up as Chairman of its trustees by the autumn! For the next two years he managed the project to build a New Memorial Hall on land bought for this purpose in 1951, and was delighted when the new building was completed ahead of schedule and under budget in November 2005.

John is still an active member of the Parish Council and at the moment he is part of a small team aiming to kick-start the writing of a Parish Plan.

Working with Cheshire CPRE will enable John to continue following his chosen path to help local communities act on matters that are of interest to them. He is especially looking forward to working with our committed and enthusiastic volunteers to ensure that the countryside is preserved for future generations.

John firmly believes that work is so much easier when the people doing the jobs together know and respect each other, and is very keen to hear the views of all of our members on how they feel the challenges facing the Cheshire countryside should be met by the Branch.

Clare Lewis, Press and Membership Officer.

For Clare, this is a return to CPRE as she worked for the Lancashire Branch at Worden Hall, Leyland, before moving to Cheshire fourteen years ago. Since then, she has lectured, trained actors, run a business specialising in nut-free catering and carried out a great deal of freelance work. She is delighted to be back in the fold, and would like her former colleagues to know she still treasures one of their leaving gifts: a pair of “CPRE earrings”, lovingly hand-made from CPRE membership cards, rainbow erasers and garden twine!

Along with the rest of her family, Clare is an active member of two Cheshire amateur drama groups. She enjoys acting and directing, and working on wardrobe projects for shows allows her to indulge her interests in needlework and historic costume at the same time. She lives in Wilmslow with her husband Paul and their teenage daughter Rhiannon. Their son Dan has recently graduated from university and set off into the “real world”.

In her new role at Cheshire CPRE, Clare aims to raise the profile of CPRE in Cheshire to attract new members, open other avenues of support, and to be a point of contact for new and existing members.

If any members know groups who would be receptive to our message and would like her to give them a short talk on the CPRE, Clare would be delighted to hear from them on - please get in touch.

Debbie Janney, part-time Branch Secretary

She can be contacted mornings only between 9am and 12pm.

Before working at CPRE Debbie has been a Secretary for many years, working in a Marketing Department at a paper mill in Kent, for a Professor and researchers at Southampton University and she was also a secretary for a bathroom manufacturer in Yorkshire.

She, her partner Paul and their two boys love walking and camping, especially in the Lake District, while gardening is another favourite activity of hers.