Parish Council Team

Meet our team of hard-working, dedicated Councillors and the Hunts Grove Parish Council staff who support them.

Register of Interests can be found on the Stroud District Council website: register of interests link

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Cllr Mark Andrew Ryder

Vice-Chair of the Council

Specific Responsibilities at HGPC:

Planning Lead, Highways Liaison, Communications, Website

Mark was elected to HGPC in May 2021 following elections and the Community Governance Review that formed the new council. In 2017 he founded the Hunts Grove Residents Association and also spent four years serving as a councillor with nearby Hardwicke Parish Council. Mark was also elected to serve as a District Councillor in May 2021 with Stroud District Council where he is a member of the Development Control Committee and also Planning Strategy Review Panel.

He is an associate of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and has spent most of his working life in engineering, sales, and marketing roles for machine learning and automated identification technology for leading companies globally, including postal services, airports, and government agencies.

Mark lives in Phase 1 of the village and moved here in 2013.

mark.ryder@huntsgrove-pc.gov.uk

Cllr Demelza Turner-Wilkes

Chair of the Council

Specific Responsibilities at HGPC:

Finance, Safety Inspections, Sports Group Champion, Business Liaison, Parish Representative for Community Liaison Group Javelin Park

Demelza was elected to HGPC in May 2021 following elections and the Community Governance Review that formed the new council. In 2017 she was a founder member of the Hunts Grove Residents Association and also spent four years serving as a councillor with the nearby Hardwicke Parish Council.

Demelza lives in Phase 1 of the village and moved here in 2013.

demelza.turner-wilkes@huntsgrove-pc.gov.uk

Cllr Adam Hampson

Specific Responsibilities at HGPC:

Trees & Ecology Lead, Footpaths and Rights of Way, Open Spaces, Neighbourhood Warden Liaison

Adam was elected to HGPC in May 2021 following elections and the Community Governance Review that formed the new council. From 2019 he served with the Hunts Grove Residents Association and also spent two years serving as a councillor with the nearby Hardwicke Parish Council.

Adam lives in Phase 2 of the village and moved here from Quedgeley in 2019.

adam.hampson@huntsgrove-pc.gov.uk

Cllr Sandra Meecham

Specific Responsibilities at HGPC:

Finance, Community Groups Champion, Queens Platinum Jubilee Celebrations Lead, Hunts Grove Wombles Coordinator

Sandra was co-opted to HGPC in June 2021 following elections and the Community Governance Review that formed the new council.

Sandra lives in Phase 2 of the village and this is her second home living at Hunts Grove, having originally moved from Haresfield in 2015.

In 1976 I accompanied my husband on his African Contracts living in Zambia and Nigeria for 8 years. On my return from Africa, I studied Accountancy and qualified as a member of AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians). I was a management Accountant for the NHS.

After two appointments in Private Companies as a Costing Consultant specialising in the NHS, I set up a company called, Public Sector Costing Associates Limited (PSCAL). The company sold 10 years later at which time I retired.

I have a daughter, a stepdaughter and son, and 6 grandchildren.

I was co-opted to Hunts Grove Parish Council in 2021. My role, (besides being on the Financial working group), is intended to be community-based, I have organised regular litter picks around the village and am very involved with the ongoing organisation of community events.

sandra.meecham@huntsgrove-pc.gov.uk

Cllr Kevin Thorne

Kevin moved to Hunts Grove in summer 2021 and lives in Phase 3. He was co-opted onto the council in October 2022 to fill a vacant seat, being chosen from a field of applicants to ensure representation from all parts of the village.

Kevin is really keen to hear views, ideas and concerns from fellow residents, including those on Phase 3. So please get in touch.

kevin.thorne@huntsgrove-pc.gov.uk

Parish Council Employees

Sarah Bodmer

Parish Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer

Sarah joined HGPC in November 2023 as our Parish Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer. The Parish Clerk is the Council’s Proper Officer and as such is under a statutory duty to carry out all the functions required by law of a local authority, including serving statutory notifications, advising the Council to enable evidence-based decision-making, and implementing decisions. The post holder is also the Council’s Responsible Financial Officer.

Julie Shirley

Projects Manager

Julie was previously Parish Clerk and moved sideways to a new role to focus on supporting the Council with its projects such as adoption of community assets.