Downham Market Town Council

Barry moved to Downham Market with his wife Birgit in 2010. He enjoys skiing, cycling and playing the guitar. Having worked for many years as a recruitment consultant including running his own business, Barry took a career break and studied law.

After graduating in 2007, he worked for a year as a law lecturer at The Henley College, Henley-on-Thames. He then accepted a position in the legal support team of a major technical recruitment consultancy, helping to minimise legal and financial risk to the company.

Recently he has been working as a director for Eminence Grise Consulting Limited (EG Consult), having obtained his Master of Laws (LL.M.) qualification, offering advice to clients on Data Protection and the GDPR, and generally on how to avoid litigation! He has been an ADR Group Accredited Mediator since 2011.

Barry is a former school governor and was on the Board of Trustees of Norfolk and Waveney Mind until 2023.

I have lived in Downham Market for 35 years and have seen the town change a lot, it has grown and adapted to the changing times.

I am a practical person who gets involved in activities for our whole community.  I enjoy helping with the events the Town Council runs, especially where this involves activities for younger people.

I was employed in the bakery industry for over 30 years, running my own business at one time, and being employed as an area manager for a large bakery chain, before retiring early due to industrial illness.

I have Lived in Downham Market since 1972 some 50 Years and bring 81 years of experience from the University of Life.  My life has been spent in serving others as a Maintenance Engineer in Various Companies around the Area. I have been a Councillor for Downham Market since 2007. My wish is to continue to serve the population as such as long as my health allows me to so that the Town can progress whilst retaining its antiquity and Market Town Status in the future.

Member of the Planning Team, Member of the Events Team. Trustee of The Howdale Community Centre. Member of The Howdale Centre Management Team.  Member of Downham in Bloom Group. Member of Friends of the Willows Nature Reserve. Downham  West Parish Council Member. Member of Downham By Design Group.100 Acre Charity Trustee. Downham Joint Burial Board Member .  West Norfolk Tourism Forum(Founder Member). Founder Member of Fens Tourism Group (now Disbanded). Ran the Halloween Games and the Fun Days on the Town  Square & in the Clock room of the Town Hall. 

I have been resident here for 23 years and am a member of the Royal British Legion and Institute of Advanced Motorists. I am a retired builder and was the chairman of school governors for a large comprehensive school.  I work to maintain the quality of life enjoyed by residents of the town now and into the future as the town grows.  I enjoy crosswords, suduko, and time spent with my family.

I have lived in Downham Market all my life.  I work for Norfolk County Council Highways and run my own small building and groundworks business.

I want to help promote the town and the market and see both grow in the best way possible.  I am interested in improving the town centre and resolving long standing Council property issues including ensuring the future of the Town Hall and the Jubilee Community Centre.

I have been a market trader in the town for nearly forty years have a wife and 3 children who all work in the town. I became a Councillor in 2022 I am a member of the property and planning committees.

I was born in Stow Bridge and attended primary school there.  I then transferred to Downham Secondary Modern Girls School.  The majority of my working years have been spent in retail and my last position was with John Lewis Partnership Cambridge.  I was customer service manager in our department at busy times dealing with customer complaints etc.  The skills I have acquired  I trust will help me as a Councillor.  I have always enjoyed talking to people!!

Recently I was accepted as a Cinnamon Trust charity walker.  Volunteers walk dogs for elderly and terminally ill people.  I love animals.  I am also a cyclist which helps with exercising.

For most of my life I have spent the years in Stow Bridge or Downham Market, however I was fortunate to have lived and worked in Hong Kong where I taught children to read and write English.

I am very priviledged to be a Councillor and will work extremely hard with the other members of this Council for the people and town of Downham Market.

I was born and bred in Downham Market and attended Downham Market High School.  I played both football and cricket for Downham Town and still take a keen interest in local sport.  I am married with two children, and have worked locally for the last 26 years.  I have also been a retained Fire Fighter in the town for 19 years.

I would like to see the town develop whilst retaining its distinct character for the benefit of all. 

I live in Old Town Ward with my wife and son who attends DMA. 

I retired in 2022 after over 21 years in front line law enforcement both at home and overseas, working on international borders. I have local government experience having served on a borough and town council for 10 years in Kent which included two years as Mayor of the town. 

I will work hard on behalf of the residents of Downham Market looking to achieve a fair deal for the town from both the Borough and County Councils and to promote sustainable development.

I have lived and worked in the Downham Market area all my life and attended local schools.  I retired from our family business in 2015 after being involved in our electrical retail shops in the town since the early 1980's.

I enjoy gardening, walking, reading, spending time with my family and socialising with friends. Downham Market is a great place to live and I hope to contribute to the Town Council in a positive way as we continue to see the town grow.

I have lived in Downham Market most of my married life and opened our first electrical shop in town in 1983, with my children attending schools here. We continued running a successful family business until my retirement in 2015.

I was elected to DMTC in 1987 and during that time I was President of the Chamber of Trade and served as Mayor and deputy Mayor. I qualified as a Norfolk County FA referee in 1991 and carried on that interest including being involved in branch meetings until retiring. I have served as Chairman of Downham Market Youth FC and have been helping at Downham Games since the start, being interested in sport all my life. I took up running at 70.

I enjoy gardening particularly growing vegetables, and walking holidays when we can get away.

Having lived and worked in town for so many years I am keen to see the town grow and prosper and I will continue to do my very best for all residents.

Born in East London I have  lived and worked in Downham since the mid 1960's attending local primary, and secondary schools before going to various Universities to acquire a wide range of professional qualifications in social work, risk management  and general management.  My main employment was in the National Probation Service  from which I  retired and took up new challenges. 

Since retirement  I have been a Borough Cllr, and member of the Norfolk Safeguarding Board sub groups re quality assurance and development, alongside training in adult safeguarding for community groups when required.   However I  spend the bulk of my time working with a wide range of community organisations, grant writing and capacity building alongside organising events I am proud to belong to the Rotary organisation and in 2023/24 will be President for the local branch.

I firmly believe in the work of the parish council and the power of community to make positive changes, and love talking to residents about their views of what Downham can achieve and look forward to working on DMTC going forward.

Resident of Downham Market for 30 years and former director of a farming business for 27 years with powers to buy, sell and negotiate successful  business prospects. After leaving, I worked for the National Farmers Union at Wissington sugar factory in a managerial role, negotiating payment adjustments for 2,200 Sugar Beet growers and managing 17 members of staff for 11 years. Owner of a successful Driving School, until retirement at 67 years old. I gained great respect from my work in all 3 business situations, for my honesty, integrity and judgement.

Happily married for 28 years with my present wife, we have 3 children between us and 8 grand children.

A competitive marksman, casual golfer, and a confessed adrenalin junkie, my main sport is Speed Skating, and was a British Speed Skating Champion at the age of 64, being the oldest competitive Inline Speed Skater in the UK at the time.

I am a member of the local Safer Nighbourhood Action Panel (SNAP).