Discover and Join A Growing Community Of Sustainable Businesses in The Surrey Hills

Charles Russell Speechleys

“We are proud to be a longstanding corporate partner of Surrey Hills Enterprises and to support the excellent services they provide within the community in which we live and work.  Their commitment to the local economy together with their ethos of encouraging ethical and sustainable development fits squarely within the values we uphold at Charles Russell Speechlys through the CRS way.  We are excited by their future plans and delighted to be able to support them as they progress.”

Sally Ashford, Partner

We have an unusually broad range of skills and experience across the full spectrum of business and personal needs. This gives us a wider perspective, clear insight and a strongly commercial long-term view. We use this approach to secure the growth of our clients as they move confidently into the future. It has made us a leader in the world of dynamic growth and family businesses, and among the world’s leading creators and owners of private wealth and their families.

Our integrated services combine international reach with expertise and specialist knowledge, and include: Corporate, Commercial, Employment, Pensions & Immigration, Construction, Real Estate, Real Estate Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Commercial Dispute Resolution, Corporate Recovery and Insolvency, Private Client & Family Law.

One London Square, Cross Lanes, Guildford GU1 1UN

Azets

Ashcombe Court, Woolsack Way, Godalming, GU7 1LQ

Birtley House Nursing Home

Birtley House Nursing home was established in 1932 and has been in the same family for 4 generations providing full nursing care and supported living.

Birtley has a long term commitment to supporting the local community. It has its own Charitable Fund within the Community Foundation for Surrey and provides extensive opportunities for young people with learning difficulties through its partnership with Halow. The Birtley grounds support a wide range of artisan and outdoor skills courses from bee-keeping to stone-carving. Birtley House was a designated Showcase for Surrey County Council’s energy event in 2011 for its extensive environmental activities including biomass heating for the care home.

Simon Whalley, chairman of Birtley House Nursing Home helped set up Surrey Hills Enterprises CIC which he now Chairs and offers the office accommodation as a Gift in kind.

Bramley, Guildford, GU5 0LA

Wendy Varcoe MBE

Executive Director

Wendy has over 20 years’ of experience working within land regeneration, environmental improvements and conservation including working for the first Groundwork Trust in St Helens and in West London and central London regenerating London’s Canals.

Over the last 20 years Wendy’s work has focused on supporting local communities in Surrey, developing partnership projects and building community funds across all areas of community need.

Wendy was the Founding Director for the Community Foundation for Surrey and became its first Executive Director. In this time she has overseen the development of substantial new philanthropic funds to support community needs across Surrey. In total over £18 million has been secured for local communities since the Community Foundation was established in 2005. Wendy was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for 2016 to recognise her dedication and hard work in supporting local communities in Surrey.

In 2017, Wendy moved from the Community Foundation for Surrey to take up the role of Executive Director at Surrey Hills Enterprises to support the development of the rural economy and to protect and enhance the Surrey Hills.

Maggie Howell

Marketing and communications manager

Maggie Howell has over 25 years of experience in marketing and event management across a wide range of industries. In addition, she has experience in running small businesses in the food and publishing sector.

Maggie’s main role is to support the marketing of Surrey Hills Members, to raise awareness of the Surrey Hills Enterprises and to organise and manage Surrey Hills Events.

Kate Chapman

Marketing Officer

Patrick Haveron

Events Manager

Grant Pearman

Events site manager

Karen Goodman

Finance Manager

Simon Whalley

Chairman

Simon Whalley is the Chairman of the Birtley House Group Ltd which provides full nursing care and supported living at Birtley House in Surrey. The Nursing Home (Eyhurst Court Ltd) was registered in 1932 by Simon’s grandparents making it probably the oldest private care home, still managed by the founding family, in Britain.

Birtley House was a designated Showcase for Surrey County Council’s energy event in 2011 for its extensive environmental activities including biomass heating for the care home and it hosts the Surrey Hills Wood Fair and a major sculpture exhibition amongst many other events attracting over 10,000 visitors each year.

Simon helped set up Surrey Hills Enterprises CIC, which he now chairs, to build a brand for the Surrey Hills, promote local produce and help conserve its environment. He also chairs the Surrey Countryside & Rural Enterprise Forum which is building a programme of collaborative working to help fund projects in the countryside in the county.

Sue Sturgeon

Vice Chair

Sue is an accountant by background.  In 2017 she retired after a long career in the public sector- her last role was the Managing Director of Guildford Borough Council.  Sue has lived in Guildford for many years and is passionate about protecting the Surrey Hills as well as promoting and growing the rural economy.

Sue is also a governor of Activate Learning who run many colleges and Schools in the South. She is also a member of the board of Guildford Philanthropy and a trustee of the Guildford Book Festival.

Michael Coughlin

Director

An Experienced CEO/Group Managing Director with a background in the public and private sectors.

Skilled in Leadership, Performance Improvement, Government, Culture Change, and Executive Coaching.

Post graduate qualifications in management, marketing and leisure management.

Peter Ducker

Chairman

Peter spent the last 8 years at the helm of the Institute of Hospitality driving forward impressive results and building the institute into the professional body for hospitality that it is today

He is now in semi retirement working with bright, visionary and interesting people on projects including encouraging and supporting young people entering hospitality careers and bringing new products to market to meet emerging consumer demands keeps me engaged in the industry he loves.

Writing opinion and background pieces as part of his role on the advisory board of P&G Professional keeps him up to date of so many areas of the industry.

He joined the Surrey Hills Enterprise board of Directors in 2022

Rob Fairbanks

Director

Rob Fairbanks leads on the policy and strategy for the Surrey Hills and manages the AONB Unit. He was appointed as the first AONB Officer for Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1999. Previously Rob worked as a Senior Countryside Officer in the Countryside Commission’s South East Regional Office where his responsibilities included National Trails, Land Management Initiatives, Community Forestry and initiating the Health Walks programme with the British Heart Foundation.

His academic credentials include a degree in Geography and Sociology and a Masters Degree in Environmental Management.

Peter Martin

Director

Peter Martin graduated with an Honours Degree in Geography from the University of Durham and is a Fellow of the Chartered Certified Accountants Association.

He served with Voluntary Service Overseas in Khartoum, Sudan for 2 years before working for over 30 years in the international IT industry holding senior positions in Finance and Marketing in London, New York and Paris.

Peter was first elected as a Councillor in 1991. He has for the last 15 years served on Surrey County, Waverley Borough and Godalming Town Councils.  He is a past Deputy Leader and Chairman of Surrey County Council and has served as the Mayor of Godalming. He is Chairman of the Surrey Civilian-Military Partnership Board and Vice Chairman of the Godalming Performing Arts Festival. He served as Chairman of Governors of St Catherine’s School, Bramley, for some 14 years before stepping down in 2021.

Peter joined the Surrey Hills Enterprises Board of Directors in 2019.

Ian Mcculloch

Director

After a 27 year career in media as Commercial Director of ITV Ian started thinking of what he might do next. As a Surrey Hills resident who has been captivated by the scenery and romance of this piece of special countryside he wondered whether it was possible to capture it in a gin, much as the Scots do with whisky; that was in early 2013. Fast forward to Autumn 2014 and Silent Pool Distillers produced it’s first spirits with Silent Pool Gin following in March 2015. The multi award winning business has grown quickly and now exports to over 30 countries worldwide as well as across the UK. Ian’s background is in sales and marketing but now includes almost everything else onsite!

Tim Metson

Director

Tim is a chartered surveyor and farmer and has lived in the Surrey Hills his whole life. He splits his time between running and developing the family farm in the heart of the hills alongside his property consultancy and agency business. Enterprises on the farm include growing the pedigree Hereford beef herd, development and promotion of the ornamental gardens, marketing of high quality accommodation and the expansion of a high end mobile Airstream style catering business. From a professional real estate perspective, Tim advises on all sectors of the market ranging from rural country houses, farms and estates through to acting as lead property adviser to a leading UK commercial property regeneration specialist.

David Wright OBE

Director & Chairman of Membership Group

An Economics Degree at Birmingham University and voluntary service in Chad preceded a 50 year career in the Diplomatic Service specialising in the Middle East which concluded as HM Ambassador, Doha. David was awarded an OBE for service in South Africa.

On retirement, he represented the Tillingbourne Ward on Guildford Borough Council for 16 years, serving on the Executive and as Deputy Leader. David served 16 years on the Surrey Hills AONB Board and as Vice Chair and then Chairman helped oversee the creation of the Surrey Hills Family – Society, Enterprises CIC and Trust Fund.

David was Founder Chairman of SurreySave Credit Union and currently chairs the merged Surrey and West Sussex Credit Union trading as Boom Credit Union. David also serves on the Friends of the Hurtwood and Oakleaf Enterprises Boards. His home has been at Newlands Corner for 42 years. David has been a Board Member of Surrey Hills Enterprises since 2014 and is Chairman of the Membership Working Group overseeing the Trade Mark Surrey Hills Awards.