Newly appointed Chair recruits Town Board Members

Richard Garland has been appointed the Independent Chair for the new Eastbourne Town Board, which will oversee a £20 million government investment to help level up the town over the next 10 years.

Richard is currently the Chair of Eastbourne Chamber of Commerce and will be stepping away from that position later this month to concentrate on this newly created role.

The appointment was made following an application process and interview panel that included the Leader of the Council, Cllr Stephen Holt, the MP for Eastbourne and Willingdon, Caroline Ansell, and the Chief Executive of Eastbourne Borough Council, Robert Cottrill.

Richard's first task will be to recruit Board Members, for which expressions of interest are now being invited.

He said: "I am delighted to be appointed Chair and looking forward to driving forward a range of exciting projects that will bring long term benefits for Eastbourne and people living here.

"I would now like others who share my passion for the town to join me as Board Members and take this opportunity to help make positive change. I encourage anyone who is interested to come along to my Meet the Chair event on Friday (details below)."

An expressions of interest is invited from anyone in the community who is independent, has a passion for Eastbourne and understands placemaking.

The Chair has identified a number of themes that Board Members should have an interest in, which include:

• Technology & Digital
• Economic development / Regeneration / Business
• Wellbeing / Healthcare
• Education / Learning / Schools / Higher Education
• Hospitality
• Banking / Legal
• Nature & Environment
• Heritage

The window for submitting expressions of interest is from 9am on Tuesday, May 14, to 5pm on Tuesday, May 21, 2024.

Applicants should submit a covering letter, setting out why they are interested in having a place on the Board, an indication of which themes interest them the most, and 100 words about themselves, what motivates them and what they can bring to the Board.

This should be sent by email to townboard@eastbourne.gov.uk or a hard copy dropped off at Eastbourne Town Hall reception by 5pm on Tuesday, May 21

Applicants must be able to attend the first meeting of the Eastbourne Town Board online on Friday, May 31, at 2pm.

To give potential Board Members an opportunity to meet the Chair, an event will be held on Friday, May 17, from 3pm to 5pm in the Johnson Room at the Welcome Building, Devonshire Quarter. This will be a chance to find out more about the aims, themes and work of the Board.

To find out more, visit InvestingInEastbourne.co.uk

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