Gareth Hoskins, Chief Executive

A graduate with an honours degree from London University and post-graduate qualifications in administration and finance. With thirty years of public service in Higher Education and Social Services administration, finance and project management, he also has extensive experience in personnel management. Joint owner and manager of a property business based largely in London. Parish Councillor on Huish Champflower Parish Council. Vice-Chair of Wiveliscombe Civic Society. Founder member of the 10 Parishes Transition Initiative.

Iain Beath, Technical Director

Iain is a graduate with a degree in biochemistry from Oxford, an MSc in Computer Science from UCL, and has studied renewable energy and environmental ethics with the Open University. As a director of Renewable Power Limited, he has ten years' experience in renewable energy consultancy and, as project developer, is currently responsible for a 5MW solar PV farm application, 4 hydropower sites and a biomass combined heat and power project. He has secured legal contracts with landowners, completed scoping for environmental impact assessments (EIA) and worked with EIA consultants and other related specialists. As a consultant, he has undertaken a wide range of tasks for third party companies in the UK and Germany, for the public sector including councils, national parks and utility companies, and for community trusts.

James Grischeff, Director

James has lived in Wiveliscombe for the last 10 years or so and during this time engaged with a number of organisations and societies involved with improving the social situation of residents, including Rainbow children centre, Wiveliscombe Scout Group and 10 Radio. He has a strong belief in environmental sustainability progressed through a professional career begun in Queensland, Australia with the Department of Natural Resources and continued today with Natural England, based in Taunton.  His specialism has always been associated with developing and delivering community led or steered initiatives associated with environmental improvements, as he feels that for such improvements to be sustained it needs community buy in and behavioural change through desire.

Richard Brunning, Director

Richard is an archaeologist working with Somerset County Council Heritage Service. He has collected a BA, MA and PhD and some other letters along the way. Part of his work involves advising local and county planners on the archaeological implications of planning applications. He is a member of six existing renewable energy co-operatives in the UK (including the first UK one) and is a member of several other co-ops. He lives in Wiveliscombe with his family.

Dave Mansell - Wind Energy Sub-Group

Dave is an environmental science graduate from University of East Anglia. He has worked in recycling for more than twenty years and set-up his first waste paper collection in 1979. His career has involved managing many small and large projects, included running the UK's first modern kerbside recycling collections in Sheffield from 1989, developing the kerbside sort system in Bath with Avon Friends of the Earth in 1994 and introducing the UK's first large-scale food waste collections in Somerset in 2004. He works as Strategy and Communications Team Leader for Somerset Waste Partnership. Dave lives with his family in Wiveliscombe and has a long-standing interest in renewable energy, installing solar panels at his home in 2009 - see: bit.ly/oursolar. He has previously served as Finance Director of Brendon Energy and now contributes to the wind energy sub-group with Richard Brunning and Ian Ayre.

Brendon Energy - board of directors

BRENDON ENERGY was originally developed by a group of local residents concerned about the threats of depleting global oil and gas supplies (‘peak oil’) and the impacts of climate change, and committed to developing the capacity of our local communities. These included Gareth Hoskins, Mandy Johnson, Geoff Johnson and Iain Beath, who were founder Directors that set up Brendon Energy and launched the first share offer. Dave Mansell was co-opted to the board soon after. Gareth, Iain and Dave stood for the first elections to the board in March 2012 when all three were elected. Richard Brunning was co-opted to the new board in May 2012. At the first AGM in October 2012, Dave stood down, but continues to lead a wind energy sub-group, and Richard and James Grischeff were elected.

A number of others are also actively involved, including Jane Ruell (Bookkeeper), Tony Baker and Mark Ogden, and members of a sub-group working on our wind project, led by Dave Mansell.