Councillors

[email protected]
Tel: 01823 672877
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Janet moved to the Wellington area from Dorset 34 years ago. Janet is married to Ian and they have two sons, Ben and Daniel. Janet has been a Wellington Town Councillor since 2007 and served as Mayor in 2019-2021, a role she also carried out in 2015/16. Janet and is Chair of the Council's Allotments Advisory Group and is the lead councillor working closely with council staff to develop the new Longforth Farm allotment site. Janet became involved in local politics as she wanted to help the local community of Wellington and its residents. Janet worked for both national and local government for nearly 30 years and before retiring, worked in two nursing homes in Wellington. Janet’s hobbies include gardening and watching cricket. Janet is a member of Somerset Cricket Club and follows Somerset both at home and away. Janet was also elected as a district councillor on Somerset West Taunton Council representing Wellington East Ward from 2019-2023.

[email protected]
Tel: 01823 665988
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Ross lives in Wellington with his family and was educated in the town and has lived here for about 35 years. He has represented Wellington East for about 20 years on Wellington Town Council. His hobbies and interests are watching films at The Wellesley and watching sport. Ross says Wellington is a great place to live and he wants to support its future.

Ross is also a Somerset West and Taunton Councillor for the Blackdown Hills.

[email protected]
Tel: 01823 662855 (WTC Office)
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Justin moved to Wellington in 2010 with his wife and 2 sons and has worked in the town since 2016. Justin has held senior positions in the publishing, travel and events industries and currently runs his own business.

Justin joined the Council in January 2024 as a co-opted member. He is committed to using his experience and expertise to contribute to the ongoing running and improving of the town and ensuring value for money for all residents.

In his spare time, he is a member and coach at the local triathlon club and regularly enters a range of events from Parkrun to Ironman races. If he’s not swimming, cycling or running, he can usually be found on the golf course.

[email protected]
Tel: 07443 544946
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Sean has lived in Wellington for over 15 years, and has loved growing with the town and integrating himself into its events from the Flower shows to Film Festivals. Sean shift managed for over 10 years in the old One Stop and Post Office in the High Street before taking the plunge into a different career. Sean now manages the Museum of Somerset in Taunton on behalf of the South West Heritage Trust. This is Sean’s second term on the town council (previously being co-opted) during which he was proud to be part of the adoption of the green corridor preserving one of Wellington’s most beloved assets for generations.

With the current economic climate hitting hard as we move into 2024, Sean believes he can look at what Wellington needs as a whole and not just a particular demographic to try to preserve its natural as well as community assets that we have for everyone’s enjoyment. He also believes that Wellington is a wonderfully unique town in a great position that can and will only benefit by looking at taking on and running things more locally.

Sean, being an independent councillor, strongly believes that there is no place for party politics at a town council level and will instead work with everyone in making the right choices to safeguard the future of our home and town for everyone. In the future, Sean looks forward to helping reshape the way people see, interact, work and understand their local council.

[email protected]
Tel: 07710326698
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Keith is a Devonian who crossed the border to Wellington 15 years ago and has lived very happily in the town ever since. After teaching A-level Politics at a Taunton school for a decade he decided it was time to risk an election himself. In 2019 Keith was successful in becoming one of two councillors for Wellington East on the newly formed Somerset West and Taunton district council, with primary interests in economic development and public transport.
Away from council activities Keith is one of the founders of the Wellington Mills community interest company, a campaigning group that has been working since 2018 with the SWT heritage team to encourage an imaginative regeneration of the former textile mills at Tonedale.
Keith is also chair of the Wellington Film Festival, due to be held for the first time in the autumn of 2022.

[email protected]
Tel: 01823 662855 (WTC Office)
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Councillor Mark Lithgow has lived in Wellington since 1985 and is married and has 3 grown children, who were all educated in Beech Grove primary and Court Fields schools.

Mark's main reason for wanting to become a town councillor, is to be a voice for the residents of Wellington, especially for the more vulnerable residents such as the young or elderly. Mark hopes to help co-ordinate discussions between the groups of people that help them, such as the police or social services, to make the help more effective and to help keep the Wellington One Team sustainable.

He feels it is important to work collaboratively with the other councillors, regardless of their political party, to get the best for the people of Wellington.

As well as an interest in politics, Mark is also a Samaritan and has been for many years, is the President of the Wellington St John Ambulance Adult division where he helps to promote the volunteers and celebrates their achievements. Also Mark is a keen motorcyclist.

[email protected]
Tel: 07973 535643
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Originally from Plymouth Chris served for 24 years in the Bristish Army and then worked for 12 years in Further Education as a curriculum manager and lecturer.
Chris moved to Wellington to work and manage a business on the high street and has fallen in love with the community spirit of the town. Becoming a Councillor gives the perfect opportunity to represent and work for the residents of Wellington.

[email protected]
Tel: 07922 831733
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Mike has lived in the Wellington area for 19 years, first in Langford Budville and since 2010 in North Wellington and currently in Tonedale. Mike’s career was in IT and auditing but for the last five years he has been a full time homemaker for his family. He has been a governor at his children's primary school and is active in the Local Friends of the Earth, Oxfam fundraising and Peace groups. He thinks Wellington is a lovely town and is interested in how we can make it more sustainable, improving the environment and reducing pollution while ensuring the homes and facilities people need are available.

[email protected]
Tel: 07762 162269
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Steve had a wide career prior to retirement including service in H M Treasury, Whitehall, as an independent consultant specialising in heritage organizations, and latterly as Chief Executive of a West Country Local Medical Committee representing about 1000 NHS GPs. He has two Masters degrees, in Organizational Psychology and Business Administration, while also pursuing his main hobby of writing novels, plays and short stories. His connections with Wellington started over 30 years ago when he staged his first play in a festival at the Wellesley and he is delighted to now be resident here with his wife. One of his married sons and two granddaughters also live in Wellington. Prior to becoming a Wellington councillor, Steve had been a Parish councillor in Devon, also chairing that council for two years and a governor of two schools. Steve supports a strong role for town and parish councils where the full team, irrespective of political views, can try to work together for the good of the community. Pressures on many services make it vital that the collective council voice takes every opportunity to lobby higher levels of government and business to resolve local problems.

[email protected]
Tel: 01823 663146
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John is a single parent to two young sons and was elected in May 2015. He has previously served on Taunton Deane Council and Somerset County Council. John has lived in Wellington since the age of 10. He trained as a journalist on the Wellington Weekly News and in 2022 he returned to work for the newspaper. He has worked for many newspaper groups across the Westcountry and enjoyed a career in public relations. He also worked for a Home Office organisation recruiting volunteers aged 50 and over to use their life skills to help voluntary groups. Before returning to journalism, he was a cleaner at an office and warehousing site and later a McDonald’s restaurant. John has helped with many campaigns for local people, and served as a school governor and on the committees of Wellington Food Town and Wellington Carnival. John was chairman of a NHS watchdog group in Taunton Deane and was involved in the refurbishment of Wellington Cottage Hospital resulting in enhanced outpatient and new clinical services. John played football locally and is a qualified football referee and continues to officiate most weekends of the season across Somerset, Dorset, and Devon. John has run his own businesses and is a former chairman of Wellington Chamber of Commerce. He feels strongly about the need to attract new jobs to Wellington alongside all the new housing development which has been going on, by encouraging new and existing enterprises and supporting major employers such as Relyon and Swallowfield to remain here, as well as the need to make the best possible use of the former Fox’s factory sites. John is a former national trades union official. He enjoys using his life skills for problem resolution and directing people to organisations and/or individuals who can help them.

[email protected]
Tel: 07956607829
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Chris has lived in Wellington since 2018 having lived in Taunton most of his life.
He is keen to ensure Wellington has more planning power and welcomes a more collaborative approach to giving Wellington residents a better voice.
He is also keen that Wellington has a strong voice in order to achieve its ambitions whilst retaining its unique identity.
Chris is also a member of Somerset West & Taunton Council and is the Executive Member of Community. He is very impressed by the dedication of the many voluntary and community organisations in Wellington and wants to see them supported and grow.
At 30 years old, Chris is keen to show that being a councillor is not only available to people of all ages but of all backgrounds and beliefs. He is also always happy to talk on any issue and how he can help.

[email protected]
Tel: 07730 352938
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Catherine grew up in Wellington and attended Wellesley Park Primary School and Wellington School. She finished school in 2013 and left the town to go to university at King’s College London where she did a degree in Classics. On leaving university she returned to Wellington and worked as a volunteer at Wellington Children’s Centre for a short time. She was then employed by the housing charity Shelter, who she worked for, for five years in London, helping people with their housing problems ranging from homelessness to disrepair.

She moved back to Wellington at the end of last year and wanted to take the opportunity to stand as a councillor so she can advocate for the people of the town and bring a new voice to the Town Council. She now lives with her partner, Jack, in Mantle Street and works alongside him as co-director of their online marketing business. She has recently started volunteering as an Independent Visitor with young people in care and in her spare time, she enjoys playing hockey and going to the cinema.

[email protected]
Tel: 01823 661817
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Marcus Barr is a Councillor for the South Ward. He has lived in the village for over 20 years and has represented the residents for the past four years on Wellington Town Council.
He recently started Rockwell Green Matters, a monthly publication and Facebook page, so that the people of the village had a voice and also some local information.
Since he’s been on the Council he has reacted to your requests for a defibrillator, new dog-mess bins, gym equipment at Dobree Park playground and the only table-tennis table in Wellington!
He passionately cares about the community in Rockwell Green and how life there affects every resident.
He wants to see it continue to be properly represented and a great place to live.

[email protected]
Tel: 01823 667589
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Andrew has lived in Wellington all his life and attended Linden Infants, Beech Grove and Wellington Schools. On leaving school he went to work for the Ministry of Defence at the Hydrographic Office in Taunton. He then spent two years working for the MOD in Bath before moving to the Charity Commission in Taunton. He currently works as a Financial Advisor.

He is married to Jackie and has two daughters.

Andrew became involved in local politics because he wanted to make things better for Wellington and Rockwell Green.

He has been very keen to promote the town and to get extra facilities for the local people. He led the campaign to save Wellington Playing Fields from the threat of development; he helped to get a new sports hall at Courtfields School and to get extra facilities at all of the town Primary Schools. He was successful in helping to save Wellington Youth Centre from possible closure and is now Chairman of the Committee that runs it.

Andrew is also a member of Taunton Deane Borough Council and Somerset County Council. He served as Mayor of Taunton Deane in 2003 and 2004 and as Mayor of Wellington from 2010 until 2012.

Andrew is a Christian and member of St. John’s Parish Church.

[email protected]
Tel: 07523 414422
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Sue was born and bred a true Yorkshire woman and after leaving school pursued her lifelong ambition to be a nurse and trained at Leeds General Infirmary. She worked in the NHS, independent care sector, and social services taking the lead in quality assurance, health and safety and latterly freelance training. On a trip to London she witnessed a serious accident and leapt to administer roadside emergency care, saving the life of a truck driver and as a result starred in a reconstruction on the 999 programme.

Sue and her husband moved to Somerset after having retired to Spain and have been in the county for over 5 years. They have two sons and two dogs - one of whom is a mischievous Springer!

Her passion is to make a difference in people's lives and often picks up on those struggling through chatting with people she encounters on walks which are always much longer than anticipated! Advice, support, and friendship will always abound and she hopes the challenge and role of Councillor will mean she gets to engage with and help many more people.