Parish Council Members

Apart from the Chair and Vice Chair, Cllr Valentine is responsible for Emergency Planning. A copy of the current Emergency Plan can be found at the bottom of this page.

Cllr Carol Hall – Chair (2024/25)

I live in the village with my family. I am a Civil Engineer and previously worked for the Environment Agency, specialising in flood risk. Now self employed and working at home, I provide flood risk advice to home owners and at the same time have dogs to stay for home boarding. Having lived here for 19 years, I have seen a few changes in how the parish works. I’m keen to see progress but want to make sure the history and special character of the parish remain. I feel strongly that we mustn’t let this parish stagnate and become just a quaint holiday day-out. But at the same time we need to be realistic about how we can evolve to suit the needs of the modern world.

Tel: 07854 492347

Email:

Cllr Maggie Walker

I have lived my whole life in Buckerell and Gittisham, love village life and am committed to preserving a quality way of life for all those living in the Gittisham parish. I have served on the parish council for a number of years and have tried to give a voice to the children of the village. I also take a keen interest in the drains. This may sound flippant, but in a village that used to flood on a regular basis, I believe clear, running drains to be of utmost importance.

Tel: 01404 850056

Email:

Cllr David Valentine

I moved to Gittisham shortly after my marriage to Alison in 1999. I am a chartered town planner and retired from employment in local government in 2007. I manage a small planning consultancy and I was elected to the parish council in May 2011.

Tel: 01404 851322

Email:

Cllr Janet Twist

I moved from Lancashire to Wilmington in 2007. I had worked for the civil service in various departments. Before my retirement, my last job was for the Health & Safety Executive as an accountant.

I was elected to the Board of the Management Company responsible for managing the estate where I lived in 2008. I subsequently became the company secretary until 2019. Later I became a parish councillor and stepped down from both positions when I moved house. I now live on the new Hayne Farm estate.

I believe parish councils are important for representing their local communities when district and county councils have had funding cuts.

Tel. 01404 45484

Email:

Cllr Peter Orchard

I was brought up in south Buckinghamshire, and joined the Royal Navy as a radar operator after leaving school, based mainly in Plymouth.

On leaving the service, I ended up in London, and after a very short spell selling financial products, became a bus conductor with London Transport. I loved it, and stayed 32 years working my way up through Revenue Protection Inspector and Bus Station Manager to Area Manager, responsible for all pre-planned events in Newham and Tower Hamlets, East London, for the last 15 years.

In 2016 I took my pension early and moved west to Gittisham Vale in 2019, two-thirds of the way back to my forefathers, who came from Cornwall.

I have always been involved in social clubs in my spare time, and see the opportunity on the council to integrate quickly in my brand new community surroundings, and assist in progressing and improving the wonderful way of life for all the parish in this special part of the country.

Tel: 07956 263260

Email:

Cllr Alex Rowe – Vice Chair (2024/25)

I joined the Parish Council in 2020, having lived on the outskirts of the village all my life. I am keen to add my input into the Parish Council, bringing a few digital and practical skills.

Tel: 07484 130119

Email:

Cllr Adam Powell

Way back in 1976 I Ieft school in London and came to work on a small mixed farm near
South Molton in Mid-Devon. In the years following I worked on many agricultural and
horticultural holdings in Wales, Worcestershire, Yorkshire, Norfolk, Kent, France and even
for a few months on a Kibbutz in Israel. I trained as a teacher of children with learning
difficulties in secondary schools. After a further training in horticulture at Pershore College, I was lucky to teach horticulture for ten years at Bicton College in Devon. We set up a family
plant nursery growing and selling fruit trees in 1991 and called the business ‘Adams Apples’. We recently retired and sold the nursery to a former employee who still runs it near
Broadhembury. My partner and I have lived in East Devon for over 35 years, our children are in their thirties, they both went to school in Feniton, and then Ottery St Mary. I play the
trumpet, and enjoy bell ringing, baking and gardening.

Tel: 07535 233558

Email:

Fiona Clampin – Parish Clerk

I became Gittisham’s parish clerk in 2011. The post has provided me with an insight into village life and the workings of local government. Aside from this role, I work as a freelance journalist and radio producer for the BBC. I also have an active part in a range of oral history projects, and regularly work with the military and emergency services providing media training.

Email:

Tel: 07899 932620

Members’ Code of Conduct: General Notice of Registrable Interests

GITTISHAM PARISH COUNCIL – Emergency Plan 2022

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