Chair Piers Spence

Piers Spence

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Piers Spence swapped a desk in the City for a pair of wellies when, in 2011, he quit the board of Quarto Publishing and moved to Cotmore Farm, aiming to recreate the experience of holidaying on a working smallholding that he and his wife Sue remember from their respective childhoods in Ireland and Cornwall. The last of their three children having left the family home, they now have more time to spend with their horses, rare-breed pigs, Shetland sheep, ducks, chickens, and (in Piers’ case) a garage-full of old Italian motorcycles in various states of repair. Piers chairs the Parish Council, edits the website and is Parish Tree Warden.

Paula Doust

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Paula Doust was born in Beeson and spent her childhood in Beeson and Chillington, attending school in Stokenham and then Kingsbridge. She is married to Roger and blessed with four daughters and five grandchildren. In her earlier career Paula worked in Kingsbridge Community Primary School where she qualified as an HLTA (Higher Level Teaching Assistant) – in fact she was the first HLTA in Kingsbridge primary, and among the first in Devon. She now works at Kingsbridge Community College as an examinations invigilator and supports Roger with the administration of his business. Paula is vice-chair of Parish Council and serves as parish representative for schools and young people and is PC rep on the Parish Hall Committee.

Cllr Gail Addison

Gail Addison

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Gail Addison was raised in Manchester and worked there and in Somerset and Devon as a civil servant for over 20 years. After many holidays spent in the South Hams she and husband Brian finally moved to Chillington in 2005. Gail enjoys walking the footpaths and Coast Path in all weathers, and her appreciation of the outdoors and the natural world drew her to volunteer at Slapton Ley Field Centre and with the Woodland Trust. Gail joined Parish Council in February 2019 and is our rep on the Chillington Community Association and Chillington Woodland Volunteer Group, as well as Footpaths Warden for the Parish.

Cllr Jonathan Ansel

Jonathan Ansell

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Jonathan Ansell has lived within spitting distance of Start Point since the age of five. A former pupil at Stokenham Primary (as were his children), he has been involved with the land all his life, first as a farmer, then as a garden contractor, from which he is now slowly withdrawing to spend more time on his barn conversion. For 25 years Jonathan was an auxiliary coastguard; he is now chairman of the local history group and an active member of the Devon Rural Skills Trust. He has served on the Parish Council for 20 years and represents it on Stokenham Parish Hall Committee, the Coleridge Association of Parish Councils, and the Kingsbridge & Salcombe Estuary Conservation Forum.

Cllr Adrian Goodman

Adrian Goodman

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Adrian Goodman was born and raised at Mattiscombe Farm and – apart from a spell after college learning the ropes on an arable farm in Australia – he has lived and worked there all his life. He attended local schools, as did his three children, and is married to Maria, who has been a Teaching Assistant at Stokenham Primary for many years, all of which gives him a keen interest in local education matters. Adrian has served on the council since 2011, where his extensive local knowledge is invaluable in guiding planning and development decisions in the Parish. He is a Footpaths representative and a Parish Snow Warden.

Cllr Kim Greening

Kim Greening

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Kim Greening’s association with the Parish goes back to 1985, when she first holidayed in Torcross. In 1988 her family moved permanently to Stokenham and she returned regularly to the family home while building a career in the NHS and later as an academic in Plymouth University’s School of Nursing and Midwifery. Since retirement she has continued to work part-time as an external examiner and as a nurse vaccinator throughout the South Hams. Kim is a believer in the health benefits of contact with nature. She and husband Keith enjoy walking in the countryside as members of South Hams Ramblers, and the challenge of renovating their bungalow in Stokenham. Kim is Community Voluntary Service and Health Care representative on the Council.

Cllr Chris Hart

Chris Hart

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Chris Hart was born on a Staffordshire farm, is half Welsh, and had his own farm until 2017. Along the way he had a career in the chemical industry, retrained in midlife as a psychologist, was a city councillor and a magistrate, and worked in Africa for over 20 years. Today he offers online help with relationships, anxiety and social skills, has columns in two African newspapers and three books on Amazon. He is currently Chair of the Chillington Community Association.

Cllr Tim Lynn

Tim Lynn

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Tim Lynn was born in Stokenham, went to Stokenham Primary and then to Kingsbridge School (as it was then known). Upon leaving school he worked as a tractor driver on a number of local farms; he now specialises in groundworks for a local construction company. Tim joined the parish council in order to help local people. He lives in Hallsands with his wife and son, which is where he keeps the small fishing boat that is his life’s other passion. Tim is a member of the Kingsbridge & Salcombe Estuary Conservation Forum; he is a Snow Warden and a Beesands & Torcross Flood Gate Co-ordinator, and deputises on the Parish Hall Committee.

Cllr Richard Pain

Richard Pain

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Richard Pain was born in Hampton Court and first visited the South Hams as a toddler, when his family holidayed in a cottage just four doors from what is now his home. They became regular visitors and eventually purchased a cottage in East Prawle. After taking a degree in architecture at Nottingham University Richard returned to southwest London to live and work and indulge his passion for Real Tennis. At the end of 2015 he moved to Dunstone with his wife and daughter. Richard has a particular interest in wildlife and nature conservation, and his professional expertise means he keeps a close eye on local planning issues.

Liz Robinson

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Liz Robinson was born into a local farming family, grew up in Beeson, and attended Stokenham Primary School and Kingsbridge Community College. After graduating from Plymouth University with a degree in Environmental Science she worked and travelled in the Philippines, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand. On returning to the UK she did a PGCE in Primary teaching, then moved back home to help run the family campsite. Liz now manages the site, helps husband Nick with his building business, and looks after two teenage children, both now themselves at KCC. Having spent all her life here, Liz wants the South Hams to remain an amazing place to live and raise a family.