Meet the team, showcasing our capabilities and transparent board operations
Chair
Abi Newbury, FCA
Managing Director, Honey Barrett Chartered Accountants
Abi Newbury, FCA
Managing Director, Honey Barrett Chartered Accountants
I am Abi Newbury, a Chartered accountant and Managing Director of Honey Barrett (Chartered Accountants).
I came to Bexhill by chance, when I interviewed at Honey Barrett nearly 22 years ago for a junior manager role, although having been born in St Leonards I haven’t moved far.
My husband Simon and I made Bexhill our home in 2004 and haven’t looked back.
Our two children have attended two of Bexhill’s excellent schools, and my husband runs his photography business from Bexhill.
We have also enjoyed helping at some of the events that have brought great joy to many residents, and an influx of tourism into our town.
I have nearly 30 years of business experience, have been involved in networking groups (often chairing meetings) and was named Business Mother of the Year in 2012 by East Sussex Women in Business. I have very much enjoyed assisting in the regeneration of the Bexhill Chamber of Commerce and I currently sit on the Executive Board of AISMA (the Association of Independent Specialist Medical Accountants).
I was truly delighted to be asked to Chair the Bexhill Town Board. This is such a great opportunity to maximise the prosperity of our town and empower our local community to share in ownership of, and pride in, Bexhill – and I will do all I can to ensure we are successful.
Members
Dr Binodh Chathanath
Little Common Surgery and PCN
Dr Binodh Chathanath
Little Common Surgery and PCN
I am Dr Binodh Bhaskaran, a GP Partner at Little Common Surgery and the Clinical Director of Bexhill Primary Care Network. Being part of the Bexhill community for the past 18 years I have been involved in various health and social care projects.
I am hoping to play an integral part in developing the Rother Integrated Community Teams. I am delighted be a member of this board and I look forward to influence major positive changes in the health and social care and overall wellbeing of our population.
I believe we should use this opportunity to address inequalities in our society and support the most vulnerable.
Katy Bourne, OBE
Police and Crime Commissioner
Katy Bourne, OBE
Police and Crime Commissioner
As Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner I act as the public’s voice within policing, listening to local concerns and ensuring they are reflected in our Police and Crime Plan and addressed effectively by Sussex Police. I also have responsibility for the police budget, appointing the Chief Constable and for setting the police precept.
My office has worked closely with community safety partners and local volunteers in Bexhill and Rother over many years – from our Elders’ Commission nearly ten years ago to the current collaboration on our Immediate Justice scheme tackling and preventing antisocial behaviour.
I look forward to working with all members of the Town Board to ensure that Bexhill remains a safe place in which to live, work and visit.
Dr Mandy Curtis
18 Hours Ltd.
Dr Mandy Curtis
18 Hours Ltd.
I am an Event Director and Global Educator with 18 Hours, based in Bexhill. I am also a Senior Lecturer in International Event Management with the University of Brighton. I have more than 20 years’ experience in delivering events and festivals across Sussex.
18 Hours is driven by a passion for fostering global understanding through events, education and research. I have directed Bexhill After Dark and Sidley Festival. My most recent research includes a focus on the positive benefits of community festivals. I support the Rother Race Action Forum which is now hosted by 18 Hours.
I am looking forward to using my skills and experience to contribute to promoting long standing, positive change for Bexhill, through my membership of the Town Board.
Eleanore Gordon
Bexhill Academy
Eleanore Gordon
Bexhill Academy
Hello, my name is Ellie Gordon, and I am the Senior Deputy Head Teacher at Bexhill Academy School. My passion for Bexhill and its community has grown a great deal in the last 25 years; this is the length of time I have been working at Bexhill Academy. In this time, I have grown to understand the local context, teach a great deal of students and meet many families. This has driven me to work hard to ensure the very best for the local community.
All three of my children have attended the Academy and Little Common Primary School. They have all flourished and gone on to university and are achieving great things within their careers.
In my spare time, I have a real passion for sport, health and wellbeing as I trained as a physical education teacher. I have a love for travel, food and cooking. I enjoy cooking for family and friends and walks with our dog Milo.
Councillor Ian Hollidge
Member for Bexhill South
Councillor Ian Hollidge
Member for Bexhill South
I started my career in Civil Engineering during the late 60’s with GLC working for Department of Planning and Transportation, involved in The Greater London Development Plan.
I have been a sustainable transport campaigner for 25 years and a long-time Institute of Advanced Motorists member, believing driving should be fun while making good progress.
I started Bexhill Shotokan Karate club in late 80’s which ran for 30 years and is still going. I helped re-launch the post war Bexhill Wheelers in 2010 and the creation of our Coastal Culture Trail.
In 2015, I was elected to Rother District Council’s Cabinet with a portfolio for Transport, Public Realm and Environment. During this time, I chaired the Town Centre Steering and Rother Transport Action Groups. I am now an East Sussex County Councillor. As part of this role, I am a member on the Pension and Place scrutiny committees, having chaired the Pothole review board.
As a Bexhill resident I’m really looking forward to developing a 10 year vision for Bexhill, with fellow Town Board members.
Ollie Jeffs
Chief Executive Officer, The Pelham
Ollie Jeffs
Chief Executive Officer, The Pelham
I am Ollie, CEO of The Pelham, which is a local charity with a vision to enrich lives in real and diverse ways in our community of Sidley and Bexhill. I have a passion for community development and empowering people to fulfil their potential and have been leading the charity over the last ten years through its stages of growth.
Partnership working is at the heart of The Pelham, which is also a reflection of my personal desire to see that this funding creates a legacy of projects through joined up thinking and collaborative change.
As someone that lives and works in the town, I am excited to see the benefits that this opportunity will bring to Bexhill over the next decade and am delighted to be a part of it.
Stewart Drew
Director and CEO of De La Warr Pavilion
Stewart Drew
Director and CEO of De La Warr Pavilion
Stewart Drew is Director and CEO of the De La Warr Pavilion Charitable Trust. Stewart has been working in Bexhill for over twenty years and has played a key role in establishing the organisation as we know it today.
As part of his role, he works strategically across the region, sitting on Team East Sussex, the Local Visitor Economy Partnership, Chairing 1066 Country and the Sussex Music Hub (the region’s leading provider of high-quality, inclusive music and arts education).
Working closely with our erstwhile MP and Rother District Council, Stewart played a key role in making the case for Levelling Up investment.
Dr Kieran Mullan, MP
Member of Parliament for Bexhill and Battle
Dr Kieran Mullan, MP
Member of Parliament for Bexhill and Battle
I’m Dr Kieran Mullan and I am the Member of Parliament for the Bexhill & Battle constituency. It is my job to listen to residents views and help us all make Bexhill and the whole constituency a better place to live, work and raise a family. I do this in Parliament and when speaking to government and am glad to also have the chance to do this on the Bexhill Town Board as well.
Bexhill has so much going for it and nothing more so than its amazing community spirit and the pride so many people have in the town they call home. I hope the Town Board can use the funding we oversee to support local community groups & organisations, charities and businesses to give us even more reasons to be proud of Bexhill and I am looking forward to making it happen.
Councillor Doug Oliver
Leader Rother District Council, Independent, Collington Ward
Councillor Doug Oliver
Leader Rother District Council, Independent, Collington Ward
Being born and spending my formative years in Bexhill I returned to the town in 2010 after retiring from my career in banking to care for my aged father.
Having many fond memories of the Bexhill I felt that much of the town had shown signs of wear & tear as with many other Edwardian towns on the south coast. I decided to serve the community as an elected Rother District Councillor being elected in 2014 and currently Leader of the Council.
I am great advocate of working together with community groups as working in a collaborative way actually works sharing the aspirations of residents to enhance amenities to be enjoyed by Bexhill residents and the many 000s of visitors who are attracted to the town.
The Levelling Up funding facility available to the Town Board is a wonderful opportunity to invest into the fabric of the town providing amenities that will remain as a legacy for the future.
I am very privileged to be invited to sit on the newly formed Town Board working with residents & community groups to maximise the impact of the fund which over the next 10 years totals some £20m.
Bexhill is a very special town with a unique identity often being referred to as the secret gem of the south coast – here is a fantastic opportunity by working together to achieve positive outcomes.
Kim Richards
CEO of Rother Voluntary Action
Kim Richards
CEO of Rother Voluntary Action
As a graduate of Ruskin College, I have been working in community development in the South East for the past 20 years. My focus has been centred around supporting and developing the charity and voluntary sector in rural and coastal communities through funding, networking and planning.
I live and work in Rother and, as CEO of Rother Voluntary Action, I am committed to the priorities of the area and championing the work done by the hundreds of hard-working and wide-ranging groups and volunteers across Rother. Keenly aware of the value of community, I am joining the Town Board with a desire to listen to, and be the voice of, the voluntary and charity groups.
I believe that this is a great opportunity for everyone in Bexhill and the wider community to shape the look of the town and the opportunities and services on offer to our local residents.
Joey Daeva
Town Clerk, Bexhill on Sea Town Council
Joey Daeva
Town Clerk, Bexhill on Sea Town Council
My name is Joey Daeva, and I am the Interim Town Clerk of Bexhill-on-Sea Town Council.
Having grown up in different wards of Bexhill-on-Sea and now raising my family here, I feel I know the town well and can’t think of a better place to call home.
I joined the Town Council in 2022 in Democratic Services and now, as Interim Town Clerk. I focus on good governance, transparency, and supporting councillors in their decision-making.
Bexhill-on-Sea is a vibrant community with a strong sense of pride and ambitious visions for its future, and I am delighted to play a part in helping those visions take shape.
Working with the Neighbourhood Board is a fantastic opportunity to collaborate and build stronger relationships for the benefit of the whole town.
Councillor Paul Wilson
Chair of Bexhill-on-Sea Town Council and Mayor of Bexhill
Councillor Paul Wilson
Chair of Bexhill-on-Sea Town Council and Mayor of Bexhill
My name is Paul Wilson, and I am a Councillor for Collington ward within the corporate body of Bexhill-on-Sea Town Council.
I was elected to the Town Council in May 2023, and I was Chair of the Finance and General Purposes Committee. For the year 2024/25 I have been elected Chairman of Bexhill Town Council and Mayor of Bexhill.
Bexhill has been my home for the last 7 years and have generally lived in Sussex for the majority of my life. Being married and a Grandfather to 4 keeps me busy. My career was involved within the electric and gas business, which enabled me to have an eye for detail but to also be pragmatic when required.
I see the funding being provided as a great opportunity to improve the Town that I live in, with specific interest to providing a better environment for residents and visitors alike. To be able to be involved with many stakeholders within the Town to detail a progressive and centralised plan.
Secretariat
Dr Anne Rathbone
Levelling Up Partnership Manager (RDC). For PfN Partnership and Neighbourhood Board Support
Dr Anne Rathbone
Levelling Up Partnership Manager (RDC). For PfN Partnership and Neighbourhood Board Support
Hi, I am Anne Rathbone, and I moved to Bexhill around 3 years ago. I began my career in youth work and for the past 30 years have worked in Local Government, and as a strategic consultant to Public Health and voluntary sector organisations. I have a postgraduate qualification in voluntary sector management, and I have the honour of being Chair of Esteem, a young people’s charity in West Sussex which helps young people facing additional challenges to make positive transitions to adulthood.
My PhD on resilience and people with learning disabilities at the University of Brighton reinforced my view that we all have valuable things to learn from each other and we are all experts in our own ways. Everyone’s views are important, and my goal is to promote a shared ownership of our town amongst all our different Bexhill communities.
My role is to support the Bexhill Town Board and the partnerships, communities and businesses in the town. In doing so, my aim is to help the Town Board make decisions that can have the most meaningful impact for everyone. I feel so privileged to have the opportunity to serve Bexhill in this way. I am looking forward to supporting the Town Board to be the best it can be, for the benefit of Bexhill today and for generations to come.
Ellie Foster
Bexhill Neighbourhood Board Project Officer
Ellie Foster
Bexhill Neighbourhood Board Project Officer
My name is Ellie Foster, and I am the Bexhill Neighbourhood Board Project Officer.
I have always held Bexhill in a special place in my heart since it is home to my family and friends.
Having the opportunity to work with the Bexhill Neighbourhood Board allows me to give back to the community where I have always felt at home.
I truly look forward to working with Bexhill residents and businesses to help continue to make Bexhill a thriving town for generations to come.
Anna Evett
Head of Corporate and Strategic Services at Rother District Council
Anna Evett
Head of Corporate and Strategic Services at Rother District Council
Anna Evett has more than 25 years experience as a Central Government Civil Servant and has worked in Local Authority governance as well as Parish Clerk roles. She is currently the Head of Corporate and Strategic Services at Rother District Council and is responsible for oversight of the Accountability Body responsibilities for the Neighbourhood Board, in liaison with the Section 151 Officer.
Funding will start to be spent in 2026, once the first round of funding is received from Central Government. When in 2026 will depend on our priorities. If we do a large capital project, we will need to save the funding until January 2027 so we can combine it with the second year’s funding.
Through public consultation, one of the key findings was that people are passionate about the repair of the seafront water feature (“the Fountain”).
In addition to this, other ideas that were consistently put forward include:
Tidying up and enhancing the town centre to encourage footfall for businesses.
Utilising the space within East Parade better and adding light touch improvements to the area.
Bexhill skills to employment programme to enhance opportunities for people in Bexhill.
More greening of the town centre through business or community led projects.
Grants to support the ideas of residents and businesses bring their ideas for community projects to life.
Working with young people to make sure their voices are properly heard and their ideas considered.
The results of the funding will be seen over the course of the 10-year time frame. It is important to remember that in order to make beneficial changes to Bexhill, time is required for thorough planning, as well as community, charity, and business consultation.