Cheltenham economic recovery task force
The Cheltenham Economic Recovery Task Force (CERTF) has been formed to spearhead Cheltenham’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Hosted by Cheltenham Borough Council, the new task force brings together senior leaders from across the public and private sector to help drive forward the town’s economic recovery.
Building on the success of the former Cheltenham Development Task Force, a key area of focus will be Cheltenham town centre, including immediate interventions to support the continued safe reopening of the town and use of public spaces in line with government advice.
The Cheltenham Economic Recovery Task Force (CERTF) met for the first time on 9 September 2020 and agreed its Terms of Reference. The Task Force is scheduled to meet on a six-weekly cycle – the notes from which will be published on this page (see below).
business plan
Cheltenham’s Economic Recovery Task Force has set out a series of clear priorities and an ambitious programme of activity to help revitalise the town in its new Business Plan.
A flip book version of the Business Plan is embedded below – or you can download a copy here.
If you feel there may be ways that you or your business could support the activities set out in the plan, we’d love to hear from you. Please get in touch with us at info@movingtocheltenham.com.
meetings & newsletters
Meeting notes
9 September 2020
28 January 2021
11 March 2021
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correspondence
Partner Meetings
Business Plan Monitoring
CERTF members
dr Diane savory obe - chair
Diane is the Chair of Gloucestershire’s Local Enterprise Partnership which has a place, high street and retail specialism. She sits on the BEIS Retail Sector Council as well as the ministerial-chaired Economic Recovery Workgroup for MHCLG. Diane is also chair for the cultural charity, Cheltenham Festivals.
Diane was awarded an OBE in recognition of her work with GFirst LEP and her contribution to business, and was appointed as a Deputy Lord-Lieutenant in 2015.
With a passion for fashion, Diane studied retail and exhibition design at Cassio College, Watford. After joining Cult Clothing, the predecessor of SuperGroup Plc, she rapidly progressed through the organisation to become its Chief Operating Officer, transforming the company from a small, local enterprise to the now-distinctive global fashion retailer that is Superdry. Furthermore, she has mentored businesses to help them succeed in today’s challenging environment and is a board member for a number of companies.
Cllr rowena hay
Councillor Rowena Hay is the Leader of Cheltenham Borough Council, having taken over from Cllr Steve Jordan in December 2020.
First elected to the borough council in 2002, Rowena represents the Oakley ward in Cheltenham.
Tracey Crews BSc Hons DipTP MBA MRTPI
Tracey has worked for Cheltenham Borough Council in a number roles since 2001. Graduating from Cardiff University in 1998 with degree and post graduate degree in planning; followed by an MBA from Gloucestershire University in 2009, she has been focussed on managing the growth and development of Cheltenham. This has delivered two statutory development plans for the town, together with the Gloucester, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury Joint Core Strategy and supported significant inward investment and infrastructure delivery.
Tracey’s portfolio includes planning, townscape, green spaces, economic development, transport, housing and Marketing Cheltenham. Working with elected members, stakeholders, communities, developers and with wider partners she is committed to engagement to deliver the high quality results to support the sustainable growth of Cheltenham.
Outside work, Tracey is busy with her children. Any spare time you can find her dipping into her enjoyment of architecture and the countryside – exploring interesting places.
cllr victoria atherstone
Cllr Victoria Atherstone is hugely passionate about Cheltenham and the welfare of its people. She was elected to Cheltenham Borough Council in May 2018 and represents St Peters ward where she lives. She was recently appointed as cabinet member for Economy and Development and is committed to creating and protecting opportunities for Cheltenham’s residents, businesses, and visitors.
Victoria has an ability to think strategically, so is often able to see the bigger picture and can find solutions to sometimes challenging situations. Her goal is to achieve Cheltenham’s vision for its future; economically, socially, culturally, and environmentally.
Victoria currently works in Cheltenham town centre for a technology agency, which predominantly supports the growth of the UK’s further and higher education sectors. She is hugely supportive of the creative arts as began her career as a professional ballerina touring Swan Lake.
She also founded an electric scooter company with the ambition to support the UK’s low carbon transportation agenda. Most recently she’s specialised as a business strategist and marketing consultant and has helped numerous start-ups and medium sized businesses with their growth ambitions.
Born in Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, Victoria attended Churchdown Village Junior School and studied at the Corraine Collins School of Dance; performing in two Christmas pantos at the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham.
nigel jobson mrics
Nigel is the Chief Commercial Officer for Maybe* – a platform that uses AI to enable any business to turn social media conversations into insights that inform actions and deliver results.
The Maybe* is helping towns and businesses accelerate the evolution of their High Streets across the UK by listening to the voice of consumers.
Nigel is also the Chair of Gfirst LEP – Retail & High Street Sector Group, sits on the REVO Strategic Board, has 30 years of property and retail experience across the UK, EU & US and was previously Property Director at Superdry Plc and Director of JLL (International Real Estate).
darren stevens
Darren Stevens is Managing Director of Prestbury Marketing & Consulting, a company that provides marketing and public relations services to a wide range of organisations and companies by the hour or by the day. Prior to this he was Marketing & Customer Services Director for Chelsea Building Society and initially worked in marketing for Bang & Olufsen. Darren is also on the Board of The Growth Hub and a Director with Glevum Windows, All Fleet Services and Morroway House. Darren is passionate about Cheltenham and the wider county.
Madeline Howard
As Social-Technical Engagement Manager at Cygenta, Madeline develops and expands offerings in the human side of cyber security. She works closely with the head of the socio-technical team to positively influence awareness, behaviour and culture in organisations around the world. Her work as an NCSC i100 for the CyberFirst Schools initiative focuses on inspiring young people to consider careers within the industry. Madeline is also a Director of the Cyber Cluster in Cheltenham, CyNam (Cyber Cheltenham).
gareth edmundson
Gareth has a strong track record of delivering transformation, efficiencies and commercial opportunities. Having worked for over a decade in government, Gareth has led a range of innovative programmes to re-design and reshape public services to continue to deliver outcomes for residents and customers while meeting challenging savings targets. He has specific expertise and experience in commercialisation, economic development, council owned companies, regeneration and a range of operational services.
As the current Chief Executive of Cheltenham Borough Council he is leading an organisation that is delivering a nationally recognised development to the west of the borough to make Cheltenham the cyber capital of the UK, bring sustainable and inclusive growth to the region and support an ambitious re-shaping and development of the regional economy. This ambitious, multi-agency programme includes GCHQ, other local authorities, Gloucestershire LEP, Homes England, BEIS and a range of multi-national tech companies as key stakeholders.
Prior to Cheltenham, Gareth was the Managing Director of Ubico – an environmental services Teckal company owned by seven local authorities with a staff of over 650 covering 1200 square miles. At Ubico, Gareth led a significant transformation, expansion and consolidation of the business to improve performance and make it more efficient. He also completed a Board Effectiveness Review to ensure company governance was fit for purpose for the future growth of the organisation.
At the Royal Borough of Greenwich, Gareth delivered key capital projects to support the regeneration of town centres and led the re-design of leisure and library services. This included significantly increasing visits to libraries against a backdrop of national decline. Prior to the Royal Borough of Greenwich he worked for Lambeth Council and led programmes as part of Lambeth’s drive to become a cooperative council. This included winning a national award for innovative engagement and consultation approaches with young people.
tim atkins
Tim is the Managing Director of Place & Growth at Cheltenham Borough Council as well as being the Deputy Chief Executive. He has extensive experience in a development, regeneration and leisure industries working across different sectors.
Making Cheltenham the cyber capital of the UK; supporting the nation’s mission to become a science super power and be a global leader in cyber is now the main focus of his work. He is the SRO of the Golden Valley Development which is Cheltenham’s corporate priority and is also critical to Gloucestershire’s economic recovery strategy.
Tim lives in Cheltenham with his wife and two young children.
Nicola Inchbald, BA (Hons) Dip TP MRTPI
Nicola is a Chartered Town Planner with over 30 years’ experience in the development industry, specialising in commercial and residential development and the historic environment. She is a former Senior Director of CB Hillier Parker (now CBRE) where she ran the Development Land Team, working with clients such as The Crown Estate, English Partnerships, Commission for the New Towns, SecondSite and MOD on major schemes including the Regent Street Estate, proposed Garden Villages such as at Ebbsfleet , and nationally important projects such as Bankside Power Station (now Tate Modern) and Farnborough Aerodrome.
Nicola is a consultant to Cheltine Limited where she is interim development director. Cheltine Ltd have been involved with Cheltenham for over 100 years and own a number of properties in around Cheltenham town centre, particularly on Promenade.
Nicola is also a director of Inchbald Day Planning and Development Limited, a development and planning consultancy based in Worcestershire. She is also Group Chair of Rooftop Housing Group, a Housing Association based in Evesham and sits on the Board of Amica24 (formerly Worcestershire Telecare).
dorian wragg
Dorian Wragg is Head of Commercial and Partner for national chartered surveyor firm Bruton Knowles and specialises in commercial asset management and agency and has considerable involvement in the local and regional commercial property markets.
Providing strategic property consultancy to clients ranging from large global investors to independent SMEs, Dorian focuses on maximising the capital value of properties, increasing turnover and promoting both rental and capital growth. In addition to managing existing property portfolios, Dorian also offers advice on acquisition opportunities that complement the strategic vision of his clients, spanning a range of projects across the commercial, leisure, retail and industrial sectors.
Dorian is an RICS Registered Property Receiver and a Fellow of the Non-Administrative Receivers Association.
ian george
Ian has been working in festivals and events for over 18 years both as a promoter and a programmer. Working in the private, public and charity sector with organisations such as Warner Music and Glastonbury Festival.
Following 7 years as Director of Cheltenham Jazz Festival in association with BBC Radio 2, in 2017 he also became Director of The Times & The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival before in 2018 taking up the post of Director of Festivals heading up all four festivals that Cheltenham Festivals (the not for profit Charity) runs which are the Jazz, Science, Classical Music and Literature Festivals.
Alongside leading the programming team of the festivals his roles include developing key commercial partnerships and developing the festival site experience.
antonia shield
Antonia became Managing Partner of BPE Solicitors LLP in April 2019 having spent 10 years heading up the firm’s Commercial and Residential property departments. She has been an Equity Partner since 2010 and has been in key leadership roles within the firm since 2004 when she was made a partner.
Antonia has undertaken a broad range of commercial property work throughout her career including development and regeneration work. The key highlights include working on the Goldman Sachs HQ, Fleet Street; Lehman Brothers, Canary Wharf; Bicester Avenue; Gloucester Cattle Market;, large site adjacent to and now part of Bicester Village; & numerous Golden Tulip hotels. However, she is probably best known for acting for very well-known occupiers, Superdry, and Pure Gym.
Antonia graduated from Edinburgh University with a first-class MA in Architectural History. In 2006 she became a director of the Gloucester Heritage Urban Regeneration Company and chaired the Design Review Panel until its closure in 2010. She has also been involved in the Clearlet Panel set up by Land Securities PLC for more sensible leasing practice within their retail portfolio.
Any spare time is spent gardening, enjoying our architectural and natural environment, poring through antique sale catalogue, or skiing.
CLLR patrick molyneux / cllr NIGEL MOOR
Cllr Patrick Molyneux is the Cabinet Member for Economy, Education and Skills at Gloucestershire County Council.
Cllr Nigel Moor is the Cabinet Member for Environment and Planning at Gloucestershire County Council.
dave entwistle
Dave is currently the CEO of Vision 21, a Cheltenham based sustainability charity and, he has lived in Cheltenham since 2011. His previous roles include membership of Northamptonshire CC’s Community Services management team and a former Head of its Countryside and Environment Service; Business Manager for Worcestershire CC’s Countryside Service; Countryside Officer for Hereford and Worcester CC and a Senior Field Officer at British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (London Region).
He is very active within the town’s voluntary and community sector and feels this sector will play a significant role in helping with Cheltenham’s recovery programme.
joe roberts
Joe is a Director at Roberts Limbrick. He has over 25 years’ experience working across a range of project types, in both the public and private sectors, from education to commercial and retail.
Joe is passionate about design and has been responsible for the design and delivery of many award winning projects for the practice. He is a good listener and communicator, bringing together a mix of strong concept design, master planning and urban design skills to ensure the best outcomes on each project. Joe sits on the Gloucestershire Design Review Panel and is also a schools technical advisor, he also regularly contributes to talks and conferences on a wide range of topics.
eoin mcquone
Eoin is the founder of “Go Climate Positive” a community of businesses determined to make a difference on climate change and a co-founder of the Gloucestershire Climate Commitment.
Specialising in carbon calculation and analysis, he’s an optimist and believes strongly that the low-carbon economy is a business opportunity as much as it is the right thing to do to protect the environment we all depend on.
Having lived in Cheltenham for 17 years, Eoin was previously a Director at the leading local business Kohler Mira and is also an ambassador for Visit Gloucestershire.
Outside of work, he will generally be found either running along the Cotswold Way or on stage with top tribute act, “Dire Streets”.
andrew mckenzie
Andrew has nearly 20 years’ experience working with businesses across a broad range of sectors to manage and reduce their environmental impacts. He has worked as a consultant and an external project delivery partner, but has also spent 7 years as well as in-house sustainability lead implementing an award winning CSR programme (including Queen’s Award for Enterprise – Sustainable Development).
As Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Andrew was responsible for a broad remit including, with a key focus on management and reduction of carbon emissions. Central to achiving reductions was facilitating a transition to electrified and hydrogen fuelled vehicles, including provision of charging infrastructire, alongside active staff engagement. Andrew, and his team were also directly involved with preparing public disclosures, such as quantified social value impact from activiteis, carbon reporting, and responsible supply chain management regarding modern slavery and workers’ right, and equality and diversity.
Andrew oversaw efforts to implement an industry-first customer engagement tool addressing single use plastics. The purpose of the tool was to enable customers to make informed buying decisions by highlighting products that did not contain single use plastics.
Through his role in an external capacity Andrew has worked across sectors including renewable energy, waste management, food and drink, and retail undertaking commissions relating to planning applications (and Environmental Impact Assessments), permitting and management. Over the past year he been undertaking several Life Cycle Analysis, evaluating the broader impact of products and services, extending both upstream (into raw material extraction and manufacture) and downstream of the primary activity in the context of building a circular economy.