A shellfish farmer, a chartered accountant and a town planner have been appointed as Poole Harbour Commissioners (PHC) to help run the Trust Port and oversee the 10,000 acres that make up Europe’s largest natural harbour.
The three new recruits, Gary Wordsworth, Brian Ford and Doug Cramond, who are all based locally, will add further diverse skills and experience to what is already a varied panel of commissioners.
Three vacancies are advertised each year, unless existing commissioners’ time is extended, with the successful candidates expected to hold the position for three years. The vacancies are advertised externally with interviews being carried out by an independent selection panel.
Jim Stewart, chief executive of Poole Harbour Commissioners said: “We look forward to welcoming Brian, Doug and Gary to our board of commissioners who are all dedicated to assisting the organisation in managing the Port of Poole and Poole Harbour. They all bring additional skills and expertise to what is already a broad reaching knowledge base. In this challenging but evolving period of PHC’s history, it is critical that we have a strong and experienced board and I am confident that we have that in place for 2013.”
Vice-chairman of the local fisherman’s association for the past 10 years, Gary Wordsworth, owns and runs the largest oyster farm in the UK and has farmed several species of shellfish from his leased ground in Poole Harbour. Since 2000, Gary has been an annual guest speaker at Southampton University where he lectures on the aquaculture in Poole Harbour.
Former president of the Dorset Chamber of Commerce, Brian Ford, is currently a consultant offering strategic financial advice to a variety of clients connected with planning matters. For seven years, Brian was a director for Poole Arts Trust Ltd, a charitable company operating the Lighthouse, Poole’s Centre for The Arts.
Edinburgh University graduate in Town and Country Planning, Doug is now based in Poole and is a sole professional practitioner dealing with major development proposals from his own company; DC Planning Ltd. For five years, Doug was a senior planner at Poole Borough Council where he went on to work at local firms Terence O’Rourke and Savills.