List of Councillors

The parish is sub-divided into 5 wards for the purposes of electing the Parish Council.

The wards are Albrighton (1 councillor), Bomere Heath (6 councillors), Fitz (1 councillors), Leaton (2 councillors) and Preston Gubballs (2 councillors). The Parish Council therefore consists of a total of 12 members with 1 Vacancy

List of Councillors

Currently we have 2 Vacancies ( Dec 2023)

Link below to the list of Parish Councillors on the Shropshire Council's website:

www.shropshire.gov.uk

Mrs Louise Cowley - FITZ , SALC Area Rep, LJC Rep

I was brought up on a mixed, family farm producing arable, cider apples, beef cattle and hops near Ledbury in Herefordshire.   It was a great childhood, I was given jobs on the farm from early on, learning to drive at 12 years old on a Massey Ferguson 35, hop-picking in September and my favourite occupation – stubble burning, which has long since been outlawed.  After studying a degree in Plant Science at Wye College – I changed tack into the art world.  After working for Phillips (an auction house), I did a MA in Museum and Gallery Administration and then spent the next 20 years working for the Boundary Gallery in London.  It was a wonderful job that I enjoyed immensely organising monthly art exhibitions, book launches and selling art to people from all  over the world. 

2010 and a new teaching job for my husband Richard brought us to Shropshire. So in Shropshire terms I am definitely a ‘blow-in!’  I started a new venture of painting watercolours of people’s homes, I still work occasionally in London for my old employer and I organise an annual contemporary art exhibition at Oerley Hall near Oswestry that raises funds for Hope House. 

My interests on the council include planning and  the website.

Mr Dan Harmer  - Bomere Heath Ward - Chair 

I grew up in Bishops Castle and relocated to Shrewsbury in my late teens, after some time away from the county I moved to Meole Brace in 2009 before settling in Bomere Heath in 2014.  I am married with 3 children, two at Bomere Heath Primary and one at Nursery.  My family and I are very much into village life, with the children participating in many local clubs and activities and my wife is an avid gardener and she’s a member of a local contemporary choir group.  Along with my role in the council, I am also proud to be chairman on the 1st Bomere Heath Scouting Group executive committee here in the village.  

My career has enjoyed some variety, I had many years in retail management, which included running a shop in Shrewsbury High Street for several years.  However, 10 years ago I retrained, gained a degree from Sheffield Hallam University, to become a construction site manager.  My most recent project was managing a £3.5m new school build outside Stafford.

I joined the parish council in 2015 and am passionate about our local area, in my role as councillor, I aim to be approachable and listen to concerns that parishioners may have.  I can draw from my experience in construction when discussing planning applications and village logistical challenges.  

Mr Edward Mason - Preston Gubbals Ward - Councillor for Environmental Issues

Miss Charlotte Mason - Bomere Heath Ward - Cllr for Planning

Mr Colin Stockton - Bomere Heath Ward

My wife and I moved to Bomere Heath from the outskirts of Telford in April 2013.  We downsized our house after our daughter left and settled into her own life.  We have lived in Shropshire since 1997.

Bomere Heath instantly attracted us as a place to settle and we now have the peace, tranquillity and friendliness of a small village but with easy access to the big world just a short drive away.

After 26 years as an RAF Engineer, I took on a Civil Service teaching post at the Defence College, Cosford.  After three years of teaching aircraft mechanics and technicians, I moved to become apprentice support manager.  After nine years, I felt the need to move on.  My interests have always been centred around special needs and learning difficulties and my next few roles, although varied, were always centred around this.  My last full time role was in a special needs secondary school in Telford, where I worked until illness in 2014.  I have now taken forced retirement but continue to volunteer at my old school when possible.

I have always taken an interest in my local community so when the opportunity arose, I applied to become a Parish Councillor in late 2016.  I would like to be a useful help to the parish and hope that anybody would approach me if there was a need.  I am often seen around the village walking my dog Thor.

Mr Alan Herbert - Leaton Ward - Vice Chair

I have lived at Leaton in this Parish for 21 years. Our children grew up here and our youngest has lived nowhere else. She is away at University now but our older two have moved back to the county and are struggling to find jobs and to get a place of their own here.

I used to be a Lecturer in Hydrogeology at University of Birmingham, and a Director of one of the larger environmental consultancy companies in Shrewsbury, but over the last two years I have set up my own business based in Leaton. It has been great being able to avoid the commute but like many of our local small businesses, the pandemic has been challenging for business. I’m one of the very small businesses that fell through the government’s support network so I am well aware of the challenges to our local economy, in addition to the stress on our community in general

In our community I have mostly been involved supporting youngsters as they grow up. I was a Friend of Bomere Heath primary school and then a governor – we planted the trees in the school field and got the Games area behind the village hall. I ran cycling proficiency courses and we won grants for a science club I ran for a few years. More recently I ran scouts and explorers (teenage scouts) at Boreatton. That’s outside the Parish but was the nearest group when I started and many children from Bomere were in my troop. We had a great time, exploring the world from Fiji to Outer Mongolia and trekking to see Everest and the Altai mountains. We also won national school’s competitions and represented the UK in international science and engineering competitions – you might have seen our fundraising efforts that made these adventures affordable to all the children.

I am also a trustee for Shropshire Youth Association that supports youth clubs including Bomere Heath Youth Club when it is active. I currently work to deliver the Duke of Edinburgh programme and lead scouting activities in the outdoors – or at least I will when the current crisis allows. I hope to continue to be involved in working for our community as your councillor. Maybe I will talk to grownups a bit more!

Mrs Loraine England - Preston Gubbals

Mr R Jagger - Albrighton

Mr K Rutherford - Leaton