Member details
The membership of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority is set out in legislation. It consists of 22 members: 12 appointed from the local County and District Councils and 10 appointed by the Secretary of State (six in recognition of the national status of the area and four to represent the parishes in the National Park).
Secretary of State members appointed to represent the national interest may be appointed for up to four years - this can be extended to a maximum of 10 years (more information about the appointment of members by the Secretary of State can be found on the Defra website (website opens in new window))
Current members' details are provided below:
Kevin Lancaster
South Lakeland District Council Appointee (District Councillor)
Fellgate, Dowbiggin, Sedbergh, Cumbria LA10 5LS
Tel: 015396 20800
Kevin Lancaster is a hill sheep and cattle farmer, born and brought up near Sedbergh. He has lived and worked on the family farms since leaving school.
Outside farming, he has long been interested in local history research and is a former chairman of the Sedbergh & District History Society. He also enjoys walking and digital photography.
Kevin has been a member of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority since 1996, first as a Secretary of State appointee and then as a South Lakeland District Council appointee.
He was elected Chairman of the Authority in July 2008.
Harold Brown
Secretary of State Appointee (Parish Councillor)
Scarr House, Grinton, Richmond, North Yorkshire DL11 6JA
Tel: 01748 884479
A born and bred dalesman, having farmed at Grinton since 1951, Harold Brown has been Chairman of Grinton Parish Council since 1975.
As well as serving on the Authority he is a member of various organisations and committees including: the National Farmers Union (NFU), the North Riding and Durham NFU Executive Committee, the NFU North Riding and Durham LFA Committee, the Country Landowners' Association, the Yorkshire Dales Agricultural Society and the Dales Advisory Group.
He was elected deputy chairman of the Authority in July 2008.
Raymond Alderson
Richmondshire District Council Appointee (District Councillor)
Holme View, Low Row, Richmond, North Yorkshire DL11 6PE
Tel 01748 886292
Raymond Alderson was born at Low Row, Swaledale, lived there all his life and still lives there with his wife Susan. He has always been involved in farming and, although retired, still takes an active part in local affairs. From an early age Raymond was a member of Reeth Young Farmers Club and Low Row Badminton Club.
He has been a parish councillor since 1970, a Richmondshire District Councillor since 1989 and is now serving his third term as chairman. He is a director, and chairman, of Hudson House, Reeth, and is very much involved with Reeth Agricultural Show.Raymond was appointed to the Authority as a Richmondshire District Council representative in May 2007.
Chris Armitage
Secretary of State Appointee
8 Copperclay Walk, Easingwold, York YO61 3RU
Tel: 01347 824225
Chris Armitage was born in Leeds. A civil service career saw him working and living in the West Midlands, the South West and the South East, before a very welcome return to North Yorkshire in the mid 1990s. He worked in various Government Departments but spent many years working in the (then) Ministry of Agriculture and latterly Defra and was the Countryside Agency’s Yorkshire Regional Director from 1999 to 2001. Chris is an accredited practitioner and occasional trainer of Project & Programme Management.
Chris enjoys spending time with family and friends, listening to music, walking, current affairs and squash.
Roger Bird
Cumbria County Council Appointee (County Councillor)
Birdby, Cliburn, Penrith, Cumbria
Tel 01931 714248
A native Cumbrian and a countryman by birth and inclination, Roger Bird has worked as a cartographer for the Ordnance Survey, as a chartered surveyor, in farming and in computing. He is currently establishing a small architectural salvage business.
Roger is a Cumbria County Councillor for a large division that includes Ullswater and part of the Eden Valley and is a former member of the Lake District National Park Authority.
His interests include local history, architecture, practical conservation work, acting and stage management.
John Blackie
North Yorkshire County Council Appointee (County Councillor)
Dryden House, Market Place, Hawes, North Yorkshire DL8 3RA
Work tel: 01969 667123, Home tel: 01969 667256
John Blackie runs a business in Hawes. Born in Hertfordshire he moved to Gayle, near Hawes, in 1995.
He has held and continues to hold a variety of County, District and Parish Council positions including: member of North Yorkshire County Council for the Upper Dales, Chairman of NYCC Scrutiny of Health Committee, Member of the North Yorkshire Pension Fund Committee. Member of Richmondshire District Council for Hawes & High Abbotside, Leader of Richmondshire District Council, Chairman of Hawes & High Abbotside Parish Council.
He is also a member of the Wensleydale District Community Education Committee, a governor at Hawes County Primary School and Wensleydale School, Leyburn, a Member of the Court of Leeds University, a Member of the Objective 2 Programme Monitoring Committee, Chairman of the Objective 2 Capital Investment Panel, Director of the Upper Wensleydale Community Partnership (UWCP) Limited and Director of the Upper Wensleydale Sports and Recreational Association (UWSRA) Limited.
John is the Authority's Member Champion for Planning.
Ann Brooks
Secretary of State Appointee
Box Tree Cottage, Woodman Lane, Cowan Bridge, Carnforth, Lancashire LA6 2HT
Tel: 015242 72526
Born in South Wales, to parents from County Durham, Ann Brooks returned to the North East in the 1940s. She began her teaching career in 1961 and, for the 14 years before retirement in 1997, was headteacher at King George Comprehensive School in South Tyneside.
She was appointed to the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority as an independent member of the Standards Committee in January 2002 and was chair of that committee from January 2003 until appointment, by Secretary of State, to full Authority in April 2004. She is currently chair of the Finance & Resources Committee. Ann's interests include walking the dogs, music and all things rural.
Stephen Butcher
Craven District Council Appointee (District Councillor)
The Fleets, Rylstone, Skipton, North Yorkshire BD23 6NA
Tel: 01756 730317, Fax: 01756 730140
Stephen Butcher was born in Keighley and currently farms at Rylstone, near Skipton.
He was elected as a councillor for Craven District in 1994.
His interests are motor racing and cricket, his grandchildren, and most sports except football and darts.
Peter Charlesworth
Secretary of State Appointee
10 Creskeld Gardens, Bramhope, Leeds LS16 9EN
Tel: 0113 267 4377
Born in Hull, Peter came to Leeds University and never went home. Living in a village between Leeds and Otley with his wife and two children, he was a barrister for over 20 years appearing in Courts all over Yorkshire. Appointed a Circuit Judge based in Leeds in 1989, he similarly presided in Courts throughout Yorkshire including hearing cases from the Dales when sitting at Skipton. Having been one of the youngest ever Judges to be appointed he became one of the youngest to retire after fifteen years in 2004. He still works part-time for the Parole Board.
Having always had a passion for the Dales and a frequent visitor, Peter bought a house in Threshfield in 1988 and now splits his time between there and Bramhope. He became a trustee and now Chairman of the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust and is a member of the Council of Management of the Yorkshire Dales Society. He is a keen walker, member of the Ramblers Association and has other interests including rugby league, of which he is Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee, and playing tennis.
Andrew Colley
Secretary of State Appointee (Parish Councillor)
Lythe End, Wood Lane, Grassington, North Yorkshire BD23 5DF
Tel: 01756 753196
Now retired, Andrew Colley helps run a bed & breakfast business in Grassington where he and his wife have lived for twenty years. He enjoys walking in the Dales countryside, and he and his wife have kept rare breed sheep - Andrew has been chairman of the Dales Support Group of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. His first love is fishing the River Wharfe which runs only three hundred yards past his house, on water run by the Grassington Angling Club, and on other stretches of water run by Yorkshire Anglers of which he is a life member.
Andrew is a member of Grassington Parish Council.
Graham Dalton
Secretary of State Appointee (Parish Councillor)
Flintergill House, Dent, Cumbria LA10 5QR
Tel: 015396 25436
A Yorkshireman by both birth and inclination, Graham Dalton has been Parish Clerk for almost two decades. He is currently chairman of the village hall committee in Dent.
Graham represents the three most western parishes in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, which are severed from the remainder by the watershed.
His main concern is the future for Dales communities in relation to demographic changes. His main spare time interest is the performing arts and he is a collector of local clocks.
Wilf Fenten
Secretary of State Appointee (Parish Councillor)
The Shaws, Selside, Settle, North Yorkshire BD24 0HZ
Tel: 01729 860313
Wilf Fenten's education and professional training was in Germany, where he worked for a Düsseldorf newspaper until 1967, when he moved to the UK. He has been a freelance technical translator since the mid-seventies and moved to Selside, Horton-in-Ribblesdale in 1989. In 2007 he was appointed managing director of EUROPARC Consulting, the consultancy arm of the Europarc Federation, Europe's umbrella organisation for all national parks and other protected areas.
Wilf has been a parish councillor since1994. He is interested in all aspects of sustainability and has varied interests including walking, gardening, literature, music, theatre, writing and looking after sheep. He is keen to see the key role of farming in the Dales secured.
Roger Harrison-Topham
North Yorkshire County Council Appointee (County Councillor)
Ashes Farm, Caldbergh, Leyburn, North Yorkshire DL8 4RP
Tel: 01969 640632
Roger Harrison-Topham represents the Middle Dales Division on North Yorkshire County Council and is a Governor of York St John College and Leyburn Community Primary School. He is a member of Yorkshire Dales Local Access Forum.
Roger is a smallholder on a hill farm. His career was as a chartered accountant, banker and civil servant.
Roger is the Authority's Member Champion for Conservation of Cultural Heritage.
Carl Lis
Craven District Council Appointee (District Councillor) - Chairman of the Authority
Featherbeck Close, Ingleton, Carnforth, Lancs LA6 3BB
Home tel: 015242 41399
Born in Penrith, Cumbria, Carl Lis has lived in Ingleton since 1982. He is deeply involved in the local community and has been chairman of Ingleton Parish Council on which he has served for over fifteen years. Since 1991 he has been the elected Craven District Councillor for the Ingleborough Ward, and is currently the Leader of Craven District Council. He is Chairman of Ingleborough Community Centre Management Committee, Ingleton Rural Community Association and Ingleton Football Club, and serves on the Ingleton Primary School Board of Governors.
Carl has worked in the quarrying industry since 1966 and was manager of Ingleton Quarry for Hanson Aggregates for over 20 years.He was appointed to the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority in 1996 and was Chairman from 2004 to 2008.
Carl is the Authority's Member Champion for Corporate Management.
Steve Macaré
North Yorkshire County Council Appointee (County Councillor)
59 Dragon Avenue, Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG1 5DS
Tel: 01423 561809
Steve Macare lives in Harrogate and runs his own photographic business, specialising mainly in commercial work. He is a qualified member of the British Institute of Professional Photographers and the Master Photographers' Association and describes landscape photography is his 'unpaid' love.
Steve is a member of North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate District Council. He is also a school governor in Harrogate, Chairman of the Yorkshire Dales and Harrogate Area Tourism Partnership, a trustee of the White Rose Theatre Trust, the Open Country Trust and the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, was a non-executive director of the Yorkshire Tourist Board (1997-2005) and has served on the management committees of various voluntary organisations.
He was Chairman of the Authority from 1999 to2004.
In his quiet moments, he enjoys being with his family, walking in the Dales and Lake District, reading, current affairs and playing snooker.
Steve is the Authority's Member Champion for Promoting Understanding.
Shelagh Marshall
North Yorkshire County Council Appointee (County Councillor)
6 Bowbridge Drive, Embsay, Skipton BD23 6QU
Tel: 01756 794861
Shelagh Marshall is an elected member on North Yorkshire County Council and represents a large area of the Yorkshire Dales including Upper Wharfedale, Littondale and Malhamdale. She lives in Embsay-with-Eastby, a village on the southern boundary of the National Park, and returned as a Member of the Authority in May 2005 after a gap of five years.
Shelagh is a member of the Sustainability Appraisal Steering Group at a regional level and is pleased that planning matters are able to take a holistic view of planning in the context of ensuring local communities are viable and sustainable. She is supportive of the recently revised Local Plan, particularly the way in which the Authority plans to tackle the problem of housing for young local people.
As a non-executive director of a Strategic Health Authority, Shelagh is involved in public health issues across Yorkshire and at the County Council she chairs the Care & Independence Overview & Scrutiny Committee.
Formerly involved in teaching and learning as a mature student in further and higher education, her interests include walking, swimming, photography and music.
Shelagh is the Authority's Member Champion, along with Yvonne Peacock, for Forward Planning.
Deborah Millward
Secretary of State Appointee
Manor House, Thornton Rust, Leyburn, North Yorkshire DL8 3AN
Tel: 01969 663379
Deborah Millward has lived in the National Park for thirty years.
She has worked as a scientist for a number of organisations including the Milk Marketing Board, the Food Research Institute and Severn Trent Water Authority and currently works freelance as consultant plant ecologist for Natural England and other clients and also carries out research work for Newcastle University.
Deborah chairs the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s Dales Regional Committee, representing the Trust on a number of projects and committees including the MOD conservation group at Catterick. She is also the Recorder for the Botanical Society of the British Isles, and coordinated the data for the Atlas 2000 Flora of the British Isles for the Swaledale and Wensleydale area. Her Flora of Wensleydale was published in 1988. She was a founder member of the conservation charity Plantlife, and assists in the management of several nature reserves.
When time permits, she enjoys reading, walking, current affairs and crosswords.
Deborah is the Authority's Member Champion for Conservation of the Natural Environment.
Yvonne Peacock
Richmondshire District Council Appointee (District Councillor)
Manor Barn, Bainbridge, North Yorkshire DL8 3EW
Tel 01969 650212 or 650409
A farmer's daughter, Yvonne was born and bred in Bainbridge, where she has lived all her life.
Yvonne is involved in partnership, along with two grown-up sons, in a long-established local business (solid fuel, tea room, and private vehicle hire).
In her public life, she sits on both Bainbridge Parish Council and Richmondshire District Council.
Yvonne is the Authority's Member Champion, along with Shelagh Marshall, for Forward Planning.
Malcolm Petyt
Secretary of State Appointee - Deputy Chairman of the Authority
Lockwood Cottage, Killington, via Carnforth LA6 2HA
Tel: 015396 21574
Malcolm Petyt moved to live in Killington (just outside the National Park, near Sedbergh) in 1999, after over 30 years’ exile in the south. Born and brought up in Bradford, Malcolm comes from a family of walkers and cyclists, and knew the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District from his early years.
His career was spent in various universities - Cape Coast, Ghana, Cardiff and Reading - successively as Lecturer, Sub-Dean and Senior Tutor, and Director of Continuing Education. He has published a number of books including some on the dialect and accent of West Riding.
Malcolm became involved with footpath matters through the Chiltern Society, where for 25 years he was an Area Chairman for their Rights of Way Group, and also a Parish Representative. He joined the Ramblers’ Association (RA) in the mid 1970s, and in 1978 he became the RA's appointee on the governing council of the National Trust. He has also served on the Executive and Properties Committees of the National Trust and on several special working parties, including those on footpaths and on access. He served on the National Trust national committee from 1978 to 2005. Other voluntary work has included scouting and sea scouting.
Since retiring Malcolm has taken on the posts of Media Contact and Access Officer for the Ramblers' Association in Cumbria and has been elected to the executive committees of both the Yorkshire Dales Society and the Friends of the Lake District.(which he represents on the Council of National Parks Council). He is a member of the Local Access Forum for the Lake District National Park.
Malcolm is the Authority's Member Champion for Recreation Management.
John Roberts
Craven District Council Appointee (District Councillor)
Lychgate House, Kettlewell, North Yorkshire BD23 5RD
Tel: 01756 760355
After twenty years in the Royal Navy, John bought the post office in Kettlewell and later the Spar shop in Grassington. He has been a school bursar and clerk to the governors. He is a widower with three grownup children.
John was elected as the councillor for Upper Wharfedale in May 2008 and sits on Craven District Council. He is passionate about protecting and enhancing the local environment, and keeping the sustainability of the communities in the Yorkshire Dales.
Steve Shaw-Wright
North Yorkshire County Council Appointee (County Councillor)
28 Armoury Road, Selby, North Yorkshire YO8 4AY
Work tel: 01977 703384, Home tel: 01757 708849
Steve Shaw-Wright's early career was as a miner - latterly in the Selby coalfield. He served as a lay officer of the National Union of Mineworkers for several years, before returning to full-time education which led to postgraduate studies in Social Policy.
He is a member of North Yorkshire County Council and Selby District Council.
Steve currently lives in Selby, working as a project manager for a national charity based in South Yorkshire, and is a voluntary grant assessor for the York and North Yorkshire Community Trust. He has, for many years, enjoyed the pleasure of visiting the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
In his free time Steve enjoys reading and theatre - he is a Life Friend of Northern Broadsides.
William Weston
Secretary of State Appointee
Brignall Mill, Barnard Castle, County Durham DL12 9SQ
Work tel: 01642 314200, Home tel: 01833 637726
Born in Norfolk, William Weston originally trained as a violinist at the Royal Manchester College of Music and subsequently attended the Arts Council postgraduate course in Arts Administration.
His first job was at Concerts Director with the Bournemouth Orchestras, and he has subsequently worked in local government, commercial television, and in the performing arts. As Executive Director, he created and built the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds and from 1995 to 2000 he was General Manager and Executive Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 2000 he was appointed Chief Executive of the Royal Parks, a government agency, where he was responsible for 5,000 acres of green space within central London.
At the start of 2005 Mr Weston moved to live in rural northern England, where he is currently Chief Executive of the Tees Valley Community Foundation. His interests include landscape, sustainability, the countryside, horticulture, heritage and creativity.
Yvonne Rose
Independent member of Standards Committee only
Bank House, Aiskew Bank, Bedale, North Yorkshire DL8 1AS
Tel: 01677 424234
Atiq Hassan
Independent member of Standards Committee only
6 Cherry Fields, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD2 1LB
Tel: 01274 724374
Victoria Reed
Independent member of Standards Committee only
Hall Bank, Cantsfield, Lancashire LA6 2QT
Tel: 015242 73548
Member champions
Several members have been appointed as 'champions' for particular areas of the Authority's work. To learn more about their roles and responsibilities, please see the Member champions page.
For further information about any of the members, please contact the Secretariat Team on secretariat@yorkshiredales.org.uk.
