Meet the People
Your Parish Council team is made up of seven volunteers from the community.
We all bring different skills and experience to the team and are a non-politicised group.
Bishop Middleham Mainsforth Parish Council
Please use this link to view the register of interests for each councillor.
Harvey Neve (Chair)
I originally come from Norfolk and moved to Bishop Middleham in 1991 to work at the Castle Eden Brewery "for a couple of years". I fell in love with this place and decided to stay.
I left Whitbread in 2005 and became a Civil Servant working at the Department for Education and Public Health England for the next 15yrs leading operational delivery and digital transformation programmes. In 2020 I joined a technology company Fimatix. I also have my own management consultancy business.
I joined the Parish Council in 2012 to help out with the Parish Plan and now find myself privileged to be Chair of our wonderful and talented team of volunteers who all commit spare time and energy to help maintain and develop our community. We all recognise that we have something very special here, which makes this a great place to live, work and raise a family.
If you’d like to get involved, have feedback on how we’re doing or ideas on things we could try or do better, please contact me or one of the team, we’d love to hear from you. I’d also encourage you to come along to a meeting, you don’t have to stay for all of it and can just sit and listen if you like, it would just be great to see you.
Email: cllrneve@bishopmiddleham-pc.gov.uk
Geoff Turner (Vice Chair)
I have lived in Bishop Middleham for over 16 years now with my wife Rachel and 2 children, Jasmine aged 10 and Lizzy aged 9 and I can’t think of a nicer place to live and bring up my two children. I have lived in the North East for 20 years and am a Northerner through and through, originally coming from Hessle near Hull.
I am an active member of the St Michaels primary school 'Friends of the School’ and so would love to hear from any parents or teachers with ideas that the Council can help encourage or support. I think this wonderful Parish has so much to offer with some fantastic walks and a great community spirit, I will endeavour to build on that during my time with the Parish Council. I will be supporting projects and events and exploring new ideas to improve the amenity of the village and further build the community experience.
In my spare time, I love walking the many rights of way that cross our Parish and can often be seen walking the fields with our little dog “Echo”.
Email: cllrturner@bishopmiddleham-pc.gov.uk
Jane Brownlee
Hello, I’m Jane. After many years teaching in Newcastle and Northumberland I have lived in Bishop Middleham since 2006. I came in the first place because my daughter was here, but I loved it from the start and it became my home.
My three grandchildren have all attended our village school. I have made many good friends here and so it was a privilege and a pleasure to be invited to become a co-opted member of the Parish Council last year. I am keen to preserve the beauty and the heritage of our Parish and to work with this great team of people towards ensuring the wellbeing and safety of everyone in our community.
Email: cllrbrownlee@bishopmiddleham-pc.gov.uk
Michele Maccallam
Bishop Middleham has been a great place to bring up our two children with its caring church school, activities for youngsters in the Village Hall, play facilities in the Park and wide open countryside to explore. My first contact with Bishop Middleham was through my role as a Landscape Architect with Groundwork to design and manage improvements to the Park in 1999, including new access road, car park and changing rooms. The Parish Council of the day organised the opening by Prime Minister Tony Blair. Little did I know that I would later be joining this august establishment!
Since coming to live here over 18 years ago I have met many talented and community-minded people and became drawn into groups and campaigns to preserve and enhance the character of our Parish. Over the years I have helped run the Brownie pack, played in the ladies netball team, tended an allotment, helped in the restoration of the War Memorial and become a school governor.
The prospect of a large housing estate in 2009 lead me to join a small committed opposition group and together we won the argument over inappropriate development. This team then became involved in Neighbourhood planning and went onto complete a Parish Plan, setting out the community's priorities. Becoming a Parish Councillor some 7 years ago has enabled me to continue caring for our heritage and countryside, and I feel privileged to be part of such a committed and active Council.
Email: cllrmaccallam@bishopmiddleham-pc.gov.uk
Vic Cooke
I have lived in Bishop Middleham since 1977 when I moved here after marrying Jan. I quickly settled into village life and over the course of 40 yrs have met many tremendous people whom I am honoured to call friends.
My son, Mark, was born and raised here, attending our village school and secondary school in Sedgefield.
As many of you will know I am passionate about sport – football and golf in particular. I am a member of our village golf society, enjoying our regular outings to local courses. I am also a Durham FA observer supporting the training and development of our local non-league referees.
I also enjoy gardening and producing vegetables.
I have been a representative on the parish council for about 20yrs. On the parish council I take a general interest in everything to support the community.
Email: cllrcooke@bishopmiddleham-pc.gov.uk
Vacancy
Anne Hall (Clerk)
My role is Parish Clerk and I am responsible for the day to day administration of the Council and to support and advise members. They make the decisions, my role is to implement them.
I have lived in Chilton for over 30 years, moving from Consett when I got married.
I am married to Michael and we have 2 grown-up children. I have worked in administration roles within the local authority since 1990, mostly within the Sedgefield area of the County.
Through my role as Parish Clerk, I am looking forward to supporting the Council and residents of Bishop Middleham and Mainsforth.
Email: parishclerk@bishopmiddleham-pc.gov.uk
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