Clerk & Councillors

Paul and his wife Chrissie moved to the village from Tunbridge Wells in November 2014. They have three adult children and six grandchildren. Paul retired in October 2015 having worked for 44 years in the UK Water Industry working his way up from a trainee engineer to Company Director and Main Board Member of South East Water in 2003. He is currently a Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the Board of The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management. Over the years Paul has been involved with Young Enterprise in Brighton, School Governor and Chair of Governors at Longhill School, Brighton, Member and also Chairman of Rottingdean Preservation Society – responsible for maintaining the Windmill at Rottingdean and other historic structures in the village. He and also serves as a member of the East Dean and Friston Residents Association committee. Paul joined the Parish Council in June 2016 and became Vice chair in December 2018. He plans to ensure that the village remains a tranquil place to live whilst delivering the improvements that residents wish to see.

I am a widower with two grown up daughters who both went to school in Eastbourne. I also have three grandchildren. After 31 years living in Maynards Green in East Sussex, I sold my small farm and moved to Friston in 2017. Prior to becoming semi-retired, I worked internationally in leadership development as well as holding a number of other part time appointments. Until 2016, I was Vice Chairman of the Sussex Eastern Magistrates Bench and sat as a magistrate in the Criminal and Family Courts principally in Eastbourne and Hastings. I am a Trustee of two charities, and a member of the East Sussex School Appeal panel. While in Maynards Green I spent two terms as a Parish Council Chairman for about 10 years in total, which provided me with a great insight into how Parish Councils can serve the community and enhance the environment. Amongst our successes as a Parish Council were road safety improvements and initiatives to improve village life and harmony. I believe the area served by our parish council is incredible and I want to do my upmost to work with my councillor colleagues to help maintain and enhance our environment as a unique part of The South Downs National Park.

Phillip has been on the Parish Council since 2011 and was Chairman of the Rights of Way Committee until 2016. Phillip is a committed Christian and sits on the Parochial Church Council of East Dean and Friston. He and his wife Jill have 2 sons and 4 grandchildren. One son lives in Cape Town and the other in Zurich so skiing and going on safari come quite naturally! Phillip’s career was in Professional Consulting in the Construction Industry and after years of travelling abroad he and the family left the UK in 1980 to set up a business in Oman. On his return, 10 years later, he continued his consulting career and ultimately became involved in buying and selling companies to deliver strategic growth. Phillip is semi-retired running his own Management Consultancy. He says “This Parish Council is exciting as it is pro-active, has a structured approach to its activities and a plan for the future to deliver benefits to the community” so watch this space.