Our Councillors
John Reckless
Chair
John has been resident in Buckland Dinham since 1979. From this time he worked at the Royal United Hospital Bath as Consultant Physician and Endocrinologist, and also with Frome and Shepton Mallet commitments, until 2015. He is Honorary Reader in the School of Health at the University of Bath and, now semi-retired, he continues with some medically-related work.
Over the last thirty years Dr Reckless has undertaken various national charity-related activities and is currently a Board member of HEART UK having previously been its Chairman. As some may know he collects mechanical ‘kitchenalia’, or what Anne, his wife, refers to as ‘his metal junk’.
Alan King
Vice Chair
Alan moved to Buckland Dinham in 1990 with his wife Corinne and son Oliver. A second son Troy was born here and the family were soon very involved in the village. The boys attended the playgroup and the playing field was very much a focal point. Alan and Corinne were part of the Playing Field Committee, doing their turns on mowing the field. In those days this was done with your own mower! The family then moved away from the village to live in Wells after the boys won scholarships to Millfield, but they had been so happy here that the house was let and they returned to it in 2012.
Alan has always worked in agriculture in various roles and over the last twenty years has been very much involved in research and development of various technologies. Now he is Commercial Director of Synergy Farm Health, a farm veterinary practice, and Chairman of RAFT Solutions, a company doing research and development in agriculture. His Interests outside agriculture are rugby, walking and travel.
Sarah Barnett
Councillor
I moved to Buckland Dinham, with my husband Richard, in 2005. I’m a speech and language therapist and set up my practice for children in the village, having previously run my practice in London for 20 years. I was raised in mid-Wales, read Psychology at Lancaster, then moved to London for training in Speech and Language Therapy. Before moving to Somerset, I carried out clinical work in Kent and in Hackney, research at the Institute of Child Health and at Imperial College, and taught at City University.
We have felt welcome from the first day we arrived in the village. It’s wonderful living amongst lovely friends and neighbours, and having the joy of stepping into beautiful countryside straight from the front door. My other interests include Opera Club at Cooper Hall, singing in Mells choir, swimming at Vobster Quays, and learning so much about gardening from my ever patient neighbour.
Ian Blair
Councillor
Ian has lived and worked in Somerset for the last 30 years and moved to Buckland Dinham in 2010 with his wife Yvonne, who was born and grew up in the village. He is a Chartered Safety and Health Practitioner and has worked for Wessex Water for over thirty years. As Head of Group Health Safety and Security Ian is involved with health and safety, emergency planning, security and business resilience and this includes liaison with regulators including DEFRA, the Security Services and the Police. He has been involved with a diverse range of issues including the Millennium (Y2K), the 2012 Olympics, the Salisbury “poisoning” incident, planning for EU Exit and more recently Covid-19. Away from work Ian has an interest in environmental matters, scuba diving, photography, caravanning and enjoy spending time at home with friends and family.
Susan Hicks
Councillor
I came to live in Buckland Dinham when I was expecting my third child 21 years ago. Family and community mean everything to me. I play an active role in the village as Chair of the playing field committee and also as booking clerk and cleaner at our village hall.
I hope by being on the Parish Council I can further my commitment to the village and help it remain the vibrant welcoming place I moved to all those years ago. I intend, as a Parish councillor, to serve the community to the best of my ability, representing the views of the residents of the Parish, taking time to understand and raise concerns whenever they occur. I am looking forward to my new role and hope I can be as helpful and productive as possible.
Elisita Kemp
Councillor
Elisita moved with her family to Buckland Dinham in 2017. As a family, they enjoy the wonderful walks through the stunning Buckland Dinham countryside and on hot days have been known to swim and row in the local rivers, enjoying immensely the wildlife, flora and fauna.
Elisita is a creative with over twenty years’ experience working in photography, film and VFX. Highlights of her career include being the first female director for a Samsung mobile campaign, billboards for The Royal Opera house and photographing the iconic Robert Vaughn. She is currently studying for a masters in photography at Arts University Bournemouth and still dreams of one day achieving her goals of conversational French.