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About the town deal board members
On this page you can find out more about the Town Deal board members.
Chair: Graham Peters (Vice Lord-Lieutenant of East Sussex)
After training as an engineer Graham changed direction becoming a property advisor, investor and developer. He has lived in East Sussex for over 30 years and has been involved in regeneration initially in the rural areas of East Sussex for over 25 years. He was until last year, Chair of Team East Sussex charged with regenerating the County and Vice Chair of The South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP). Graham was appointed as Vice Lord-Lieutenant for East Sussex in June 2023 and is also a parish councillor, school governor and churchwarden. Graham is also a Trustee of the Sussex Heritage Trust, the Rural Rother Trust and a director of the Woodland Enterprise Centre. For fun Graham sings, welds, fishes and swims.
Jess Steele OBE (Trinity Triangle Heritage Action Zone)
Director of Jericho Road Solutions, with 25 years’ experience of community-led regeneration. A founder trustee and now advisor to the Heart of Hastings Community Land Trust, lead partner for the HAZ, currently studying for a PhD in self-renovating neighbourhoods.
Jericho Road provides coaching to neighbourhood groups and community businesses across England while working with government, funders, corporations and academics on national initiatives to make community-led change easier. It invests profits directly into people and projects in Hastings, including one-third ownership of the social developer White Rock Neighbourhood Ventures, owners of Rock House and the Observer Building.
Jess Steele Declaration of interest.pdf
Cllr Julia Hilton (Hastings Borough Council)
Julia is deputy leader of Hastings Borough Council and Deputy Leader of the Green Group of councillors.
She is also a county councillor for Old Hastings and Tressell and portfolio lead for Shaping Places, Assets and Local Government Reorganisation. Other roles include deputy chair of the LGA Policy Committee on Public Service Reform and Innovation.
She trained as a ceramicist at Edinburgh College of Art and worked in the field of public art before retraining as a landscape architect with a particular focus on play and working with communities, schools and housing associations to regenerate their green spaces.
Victoria Conheady (Hastings Borough Council)
Hastings Borough Council's Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Place.
- Declaration of interest to follow
James Harris (East Sussex Council)
Assistant Director of Economy for East Sussex County Council, responsible for the economic development of the county and promoting public and private investment.
Helena Dollimore (MP for Hastings and Rye)
Helena Dollimore is the Labour MP for Hastings, Rye and the villages, elected in July 2024. She was born and brought up locally and is proud to represent her home in Parliament.
Since being elected, Helena has worked tirelessly to stand up for local people in Hastings, Rye and the villages, campaigning to improve our schools, NHS services, and protect our sea from sewage pollution.
As a member of Parliament’s Environment Select Committee, she successfully pushed Southern Water to provide millions of pounds in compensation for Hastings residents.
Helena also supports hundreds of residents from across Hastings, Rye and the villages every week on issues from housing, to potholes, to healthcare.
- Declaration of interest to follow
Jamie Whitfield (NewRiver REIT)
Biography and Declaration of interest to follow
Andrew Harvey (NewRiver Reit)
Priory Meadow Shopping Centre Manager.
John Bownas (Love Hastings Ltd - Hastings Business Improvement District - BID)
To represent the interests of the town centre businesses.
Steve Manwaring (Hastings Voluntary Action)
Director of Hastings Voluntary Action, working to enhance the quality of life of people in the Hastings area by promoting the principle and practice of voluntary action by individuals and organised groups, and by supporting the development of local initiatives to meet community needs.
Steve Manwaring Declaration of interest.pdf
Rich Moore (Source Park)
Co-founder of The Source Park, leading online BMX retailer worldwide and operator of The Source BMX Park, the largest underground BMX park in the world.
Anna Merla (Public Health ESCC)
Anna is a medical doctor and Public Health Consultant at East Sussex County Council.
Since 2023, Anna provides evidence-based public health expertise to several initiatives in Hastings, ensuring that the health and wellbeing needs of local communities are understood and addressed. Anna applies a place-based approach to public health, which considers the unique characteristics of a location - such as its communities, geography, economy, and services, and works collaboratively with local people, organisations, and the voluntary sector to support joint and community-led solutions, particularly in areas of high deprivation. Anna also contributes to the implementation of the Hastings Integrated Community Team and, at a county level, leads on sexual health and women’s health portfolios.
Richard Watson (NHS Hastings And Rother Clinical Commissioning Group)
- Biography and Declaration of interest to follow
Kathleen Soriano (Cultural Leaders Group)
Chair of the Hastings and Rother Cultural Leaders group, working to support the cultural vibrancy of the area and championing the cultural sector regionally. Interim Director of Hastings Contemporary Art Gallery, an independent gallery exploring all forms of contemporary and modern art.
Kate Adams (Cultural Leaders Group)
Member of the Hastings and Rother and East Sussex Cultural Leaders Groups working to support the cultural vibrancy of the area and championing the cultural sector regionally. Visual artist, co-founder and director of Project Art Works, a Hastings-based arts organisation that collaborates with neurodiverse artists and makers, galleries, social care agencies, psychologists, families and caregivers.
Sean Dennis (Chamber of Commerce)
Sean has worked in business and finance for over 35 years, the past 20 years based in Hastings and is Hastings Area Chamber of Commerce Director. Leading on meeting and event content, as well as the development and growth of the Chamber, to ensure the voice of the Chamber and its members is heard.
He is the director of Let's Do Business Group and is extremely proud to have been an instrumental part of the team that has seen us grow a grant dependent Hastings and Rother focused social enterprise to a leading and sustainable business support organisation covering the South East of England.
Leading on the finance and funding side of the business which supports start-ups and established SME's access the funding they need to start, grow and prosper; which also takes our activities into London and the East of England.
Education is another area of interest, so he also sits on the Hastings Local College Board for the East Sussex College Group.
Sonia Blizzard (SeaChange)
SeaChange Sussex is a not-for-profit economic development company working to expand the area's economy and generate jobs by attracting successful employers and enabling local firms to grow. Their focus is on developing a portfolio of prestigious commercial property - offices, business parks and sites for businesses from small firms to big corporations, with many premises available on highly flexible terms.
Hannah Caldwell (East Sussex Colleges Group)
Chief Operating Officer for East Sussex College Group (ESCG) which includes Hastings campuses at Station Plaza, Ore Valley and an Automotive Training Centre on the Northridge Industrial Estate. ESCG provides a wide range of programmes in the town, from entry to degree level study, linking the offer to local employment and regeneration priorities.
Hannah joined ESCG in 2022 from the Department for Education and is responsible for Finance, People Services, Estates and Transformation, IT and MIS.
Dawn Dublin (Un-Veiled)
Director of Un-Veiled, initiatives include community engagement, enterprise, training, support, community wealth building, knowledge and skills sharing and community cohesion.
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Town Deal Board biographies