The Alston Moor Partnership is a voluntary body, a Company Limited by Guarantee, defined in its Memorandum of Association and Articles.
The Board of Directors is the decision-making body of AMP, made up of individuals who wish to further its aims, including representatives from Alston Moor Parish Council and Eden District Council. As appropriate, it may delegate certain decision-making powers to the management/steering groups engaged in a particular project.
The Board aims to represent the three wards of Alston Moor (Alston, Nenthead and Garrigill) and a wide range of interests. An Annual General Meeting is responsible for electing the majority of Directors, with one third retiring in order of seniority at each AGM (but may stand again). Co-opted Directors may be appointed by the existing Directors to ensure the relevant skills needed at particular times, and serve until the first Board meeting after the Annual General Meeting, when they are eligible to stand for election or may be re-appointed if required or desired. Parish and District Council representatives are appointed by their councils. Other groups like Alston Moor Business Association (AMBA) are nominated by their membership.
Sonia Kempsey has a long history of community involvement, starting with the first Alston Moor Appraisal and Action Plan following the closure of Alston Foundry in 1980. The Action plan led to a Town Scheme programme for Alston Conservation Area, the East Cumbria Countryside Project and the development of Skelgillside Workshops.
She ran the Gossipgate Gallery from 1983-2007, and in 2002 undertook a comprehensive ‘Health Check’ & Action Plan for Alston Moor. More recently in 2013–14, whilst Chair of the Partnership she led a successful bid to the Heritage Lottery for the Alston Townscape Heritage scheme.
Alice has lived on Alston Moor since 1982, doing various things both work-wise (such as in a countryside management project, involved in researching and writing local walk leaflets, and organising guided walks and events) and voluntarily (school governor, parish councillor, etc) that have contributed to life in this community. Having worked as a teacher, a temp typist and a shepherd before moving here, she continued her varied career by training as a psychotherapist, which was her work for the 20 years before she retired. She shares an old mine manager’s house with three cats, with a garden where she attempts to grow vegetables and plants trees.
We currently have a vacancy for the role of Company Secretary.
If you are interested in apply to be our Company Secretary or to become an Alston Moor Partnership Director please get in touch
Tim was brought up on Tyneside and moved south to find work. A varied career including retailing, government computing and heritage project management has provided experience which he has put to use in working with a number of community and voluntary groups.
A growing wish to move back to the North was fulfilled when he settled in Garrigill in 2003. He is now a Parish Councillor, and a director of Alston Moor Community Energy. His ambition is to see Alston Moor become a financially and environmentally sustainable community
Gordon moved to Alston with his family from a small Surrey village at the end of 2017 and quickly established himself with several local voluntary groups based on Alston Moor. Prior to the move, he enjoying a varied working life with experience in farm work, Photographic Retail and Hotel Management, and finally spent 25 years in the Aviation industry culminating as a Project Portfolio Manager responsible for updating training equipment for a number of Airlines around the world, before taking early retirement in 2015 and feels that he has now found his forever home here on Alston Moor. He enjoys a varied range of hobbies and interests, the favourite involving photography of the landscape and changing seasons around Alston
Linda moved to Alston about 5 years ago, after spending many holidays in the area. She has over 20 years experience in the Education system, teaching in schools and colleges, and over 15 years experience running a council youth club, At present she works part time as a senior examiner for AQA. She has management experience in the hospitality industry, having managed 2 hotels with her husband. She and her husband have also owned and run a retail and wholesale pet shop.
A member of the Alston Moor Newsletter, she is keen on ensuring that information is disseminated in a variety of ways so that it is accessible to all those people who are not able to use, or to access the internet.
Alix has lived here for much of the time since 1979. Her time away included running a personnel development company, with contracts to run Job Club and a National Vocational Qualifications centre. Right from when she first came to the Moor she has always felt Alston Moor to be home. She has held various community rôles, including as a parish councillor, having the position of Chair a couple of times. In 2016, she was Parish Councillor of the Year, awarded by the National Association of Local Councils. She has been the instigator of many campaigns over the years - too many to name here!
She has been a business adviser with the Chamber of Commerce. An early adopter of the internet, she has an ongoing interest in how digital technology can be used to support communities like ours. She currently runs a web design business.
Chris has lived on Alston Moor all his life. A fourth generation farmer. he has taken an active role on local committees including Alston Agriculture Society, Alston Moor sheepdog trials, NFU (locally and Cumbria committees).
He currently sits on the executive of Solway Borders and Eden LEADER programme, He has represented Alston Moor on Eden District Council 2010-14 and is currently a parish councillor.
Pat Richardson (Nee Godwin) has lived in Alston since 1990
She has had many part time jobs whilst here significantly working four years with Cumbria County Council with the Communities Team where she learned about the grant-giving process.Always very community minded she became involved in Alston Recreation Ground Trust (Fairhill). Chair of the Trustees for a number of years she got grants for maintenance equipment, all the junior play equipment plus some for the toddler’s area, levelling and seeding the football area, and the ponds development. She was very involved from the start in establishing a credit union in Eden, now Affinity.
Elected a District Councillor in 2011 she served for eight years, particularly involved in Accounts and Governance, and HR and Appeals. Involved in Alston Moor Partnership for some years she is passionate about its ability to attract funding and projects to Alston Moor.
Bio still to come.
Lorem Ipsum is placeholder text. It doesnt make any sense and is just a collection of words to take up text space. So although this last sentence makes sense everything after this will be gobbeldegook! Hence Jasmine then will throw ramblings towards something that is impossible.
Hamsters haven’t tried doing anything in space yet, but they might and when we take a delivery of cats then we will help the world!
Lissie was born and raised in Alston, she lives here with her partner Dan and their three children, Sam Lily and Eric. She has a background in working with vulnerable young people and adults; she took time out to raise her family and has more recently started working again as a youth worker running the local youth club with Anna Clapp. Lissie is one of the founding members of the community group that are working with Oaklea Trust to secure the old primary school building to use as a community health and well-being hub. She is also a member of the Alston Moor Federation PTA, supporting the schools and their pupils a by running fundraisers like our annual bonfire night and the duck race; a trustee and chair of the Alston Recreation Ground (locally known as Fairhill) and a member of the Alston Moor Footpaths and Conservation group.
Lissie has been an Eden District Councillor for Alston Moor since July 2017 and she is the representative for EDC on Alston Moor Partnership. Since 2018 she has been part of the administration of Eden District Council, where she holds the portfolio for Communities.
Originates from Windsor in Berkshire and has had a varied and extensive career in medical engineering. A design engineer, working on highly specialised surgical equipment, he progressed to become manager of a medical engineering company in London.
Moved to the north east to run a company in South Shields before changing to teaching. Has lived and worked as a Technology/Engineering teacher in Northumberland for 22 years.
Moved to Alston in 2019 and has been involved with AMERG, AMBA and also the recently set up ALATI (a new art project in Alston) and the new Alston Accommodation Forum.
Happy to be a director and looking forward working on whatever it takes to continue to develop Alston as a thriving community in the 21st century.