Rt. Hon Lord Derek Foster (Chair)
After 10 years in the private sector, 3 years in the voluntary sector and five years as Assistant Director of Education In Sunderland, Derek Foster was elected as Labour MP for Bishop Auckland in 1979. He was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Rt. Hon Neil Kinnock when he became Leader of the Labour Party in 1983. He was elected Opposition Chief Whip in 1985 and was continuously re-elected for 10 years. In 1995 he was appointed Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster; in 1997 he was appointed Minister of State in the Cabinet Office but resigned after 3 days. He was Chairman of the Education and Employment Select Committee from 1997-2001. He was appointed to the Privy Counsel in 1993. He was appointed Deputy Lord Lieutenant of the County of Durham in 2001 and to the House of Lords in June 2005.
Patrick Conway
After 15 years as Director, Culture and Leisure with Durham County Council, Patrick retired in January 2007. He progressed local and community history programmes including regional digitisation initiatives, ‘Tomorrows History’, Keys to the Past and ‘Durham Miner’, and was responsible for the award winning Durham Clayport Library., the major refurbishment of the DLI Museum and developments at the Bowes Museum and the Killhope Lead Mining Centre.
A Lincolnshire man with County Mayo ancestry, Patrick was formerly Director, Arts and Libraries at Gateshead, where he developed the boroughs public art programme and contributed to initial planning for the Baltic Gallery and Sage Music Centre.
Patrick considers the historic narrative crucial to personal and community identity and successful regeneration.
Patrick has served on several public bodies, including the BBC General Advisory Council, and the Secretary of State’s Working Party establishing the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. He is a past chair of the Federation of Local Authority Chief Librarians. In the northeast, amongst other positions he served on the Regional Cultural Consortium and chaired the Association of North East Councils DCMS Officers Group. Patrick is currently acting chair of the Northern Cultural Skills Partnership.
Lesley Hehir
As a town planner and teacher, Lesley has had a varied career spanning local government, private practice and the third sector. Consistent strands running through her professional employment have been the historic environment, environmental education and interpretation and in enabling public participation in decision making processes.
Her career began with conservation area and listed building work in Sunderland and then Gateshead Metropolitan District within Tyne and Wear County Council's Joint Conservation Team.
She became heavily involved in environmental education, helping to set up the first RIBA Architecture Workshop. She became the Education Officer for the Workshop where for eight years she worked with architects, planners and landscape architects to 'demystify' these design professions by involving children and adults in issue based and design projects.
Her work progressed into environmental interpretation and for thirteen years she was Interpretation Officer for Durham County Council within Tourism Development. She was involved in a range of interpretative projects ranging from policy development such as a Lead Mining Landscapes Strategy to detailed design and implementation using a variety of media including public art.
Working for a Yorkshire based company for two years, for such clients as English Heritage and the then English Nature, in various parts of the country, ensured that her professional experience broadened geographically. She returned to local government and the North East to work for Northumberland County Council at Woodhorn, Northumberland Museum Archives and Country Park as Exhibition Developer.
Martyn Ladds
Martyn Ladds studied Fine Art at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne before studying English Literature at the University College of Wales. He has spent his career working in the cultural sector both within the North East and nationally. His particular interest and experience is in increasing participation in culture while at the same time broadening audiences and ensuring commercial viability if cultural activities.
He has worked in a number of specialist and broad management roles including a development role for the North of England Museums Service where he worked with 90 regional museums and volunteer projects to help increase engagement amongst rural, urban and both traditional and non-traditional audiences. He ran the University of Newcastle’s Hatton Gallery during a period of re-organisation, introduced an educational service, expanded the public programme and raised the profile of the Gallery. He subsequently headed marketing at the British Museum, firstly for the opening of the Great Court and went on to develop commercial strategies and played a part in strengthening regional cultural relationships.
He has an active interest in British art and the role of art in the urban environment.
David Miller
David's early career was in transportation and regional and local planning both in the private and public sector. He came to work for Durham County Council in 1977 via Sweden, London and Warwickshire. In that time, he has been worked in environmental improvement, heritage and conservation, tourism, countryside access, waste disposal, energy management, planning, Local Agenda 21 and sustainable development. He retired as Durham County Council’s Acting Director of Environment in April 2006 after 43 years of environmental work.
He is an advocate of sustainable development at international, national, regional and local events. He presented the Durham Coast Regeneration Project 'Turning the Tide' at the World Summit in Johannesburg in 2002 as a UK case study for sustainable development. He was a Committee Member of the England Biodiversity Group and the Chair of the North East Environment Forum. David also is a founder Member of SUSTAINE - The North East Sustainable Development Board.
David now continues to work on sustainability, environmental and cultural issues both in the UK and Sweden through teaching and writing.
David is married to Catharina and they are regular walkers, concert goers and modern art enthusiasts both here and in Sweden.
William Salvin
William Salvin is a Chartered Surveyor in rural practice managing a number of privately owned estates in Co Durham from a base at Barnard Castle. He has been regional Chairman of the Country Land and Business Association, member of the NE Rural Affairs Forum and the NE Historic Environment Forum. He is an elected member of Teesdale District Council and is currently chairman 2006/7. He is a member of the Patrimony Committee of the Catholics Bishops Conference of England and Wales and a DEFRA appointee to the North East Flood Defence Committee of the Environment Agency, chairman of the NE Division of the Royal Forestry Society, a NE committee member of the Historic Houses Association, a Friend of the Bowes Museum and Chairman of the Bowes Memorial Church Trust.
Professionally involved with the rural regeneration and extensive repair programmes with English Heritage grant assistance and landscape management and enhancement utilising DEFRA environmental stewardship schemes. Participant in Heritage Open Days and awareness raising generally.
Matthew Saunders (Trustee)
Matthew Saunders MBE is the Secretary of the Ancient Monuments Society (AMS), concerned with listed buildings of all ages and types. Matthew was a member of our Historic Buildings and Land panel for the last 6 years. He stood down as Secretary of the Joint Committee of the National Amenity Societies in 2005 in order to devote time and energy to his new role at HLF. He is also Honorary Director of the Friends of Friendless Churches which own 40 historic but disused churches in England and Wales. He has also been a member of the HLF Places of Worship Advisory Committee.
Mr Saunders has written a number of articles and books on a variety of subjects including railway architecture, bank architecture, the adaptation of churches and other historic buildings to new uses, and the philosophy of conservation. He was awarded his MBE in 1998.