Our Trustees
The Good Neighbours is managed by a board of trustees.
If you are interested in becoming a trustee please email or write to us with a brief resumé and details of how you think your skills and experience could benefit the Trust.
William Baxter
William, a Peterborian, at first worked for the Church Commissioners, then moved to the family’s national agricultural business.
In the mid 80s he started his own agricultural business and served on the National Council for the industry as its youngest member for fifteen years. He represented the industry on the Potato Marketing Board and was an arbitrator, valuer and inspector for the London Futures Market and is still active in the industry.
He has been a parish councillor for 24 years and a parochial church councillor for 23 years. He has also been a Waywarden for the church for 23 years, the forerunner to the Good Neighbours Scheme.
He joined the St. Kyneburgha Building Preservation Trust at its inception in 1999 and has been its treasurer for 14 years. Apart from squash and racket ball, bell ringing has been one of his pastimes since 1996, and he has been tower captain of St. Kyneburgha for the past 15 years.
Neil Boyce
Neil trained as an electrical engineer at the Norfolk Collage of Arts and Technology (Kings Lynn) and is now the managing Director of an Oundle-based electrical engineering company. Neil also spent six years in the Territorial Army (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) achieving the rank of corporal. He moved to Castor in 2002 and after leaving the Territorial Army joined Castor Parish Council, subsequently becoming Chairman – a position which he still holds.
Neil has also been elected to the following positions:
- Co-opted Member of the Adults and Health Scrutiny Committee and also the Communities Scrutiny committee
- Member (Peterborough City Council, Parish Liaison Working Group)
- Member (Peterborough City Council, Tension Forum)
- Independent Custody Visitor (Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner)
Following his work promoting the integration and cohesion of communities within Peterborough he was awarded a Peterborough City Council Civic Award for Community Involvement in 2020.
Susie Hall
Vice-Chair & Safe Guarding Lead Susie has extensive experience in the education sector within local and central government including working for Cambridgeshire County Council, Peterborough Local Authority and the Department for Education.
She had roles within school improvement, Senior Area Education Officer, and Head of Services to Schools and Governance. Susie has led on safeguarding, governance, school leadership and management and equality and diversity and is experienced at developing and delivering CPD.
Susie is currently a governor at Barnack Primary School, Chair of Bainton and Ashton Parish Council, Parish representative on the Peterborough City Council Children and Education Scrutiny Committee and trustee and assessor for the National Quality Mark got Governors.
Joan Pickett
After training as a nurse Joan came to live in Ailsworth in 1961 where she was an active volunteer at the local school, both in the classroom, as clerk to the governors, as a school governor and as orgnaniser of the summer school play scheme for 26 years.
She joined the church choir in 1974 and has been a member of church council since 1976 and a waywarden for many years.
She was also joint leader of the local St John Ambulance Cadets Joan has been a Parish councilor since1995 and chair since 2008 taking a keen interest in the both the history and the future of the community by helping to write the local history book, create the information boards and working on the village design statement and the village neighbourhood plan.
Joan was awarded a lifetime achievement award and also received a community involvement award from Peterborough City Council in 2017.
Derek Skingle
Retiring at a senior Management level 11 years ago, after many years living and working in the transport industry both in the UK, and in Asia, Derek became involved in various community and voluntary work, including at a local hospice.
He was also involved in bereavement counselling with bereaved and pre-bereaved children, and has volunteered with Age UK for over 10 years, both with the befriending scheme and also at Trustee level, as well as having been a Police Community Volunteer.
Derek understands what loneliness and isolation is and brings a wealth of experience working with older and vulnerable folk and the issues they face, having been an Ambassador for the Older People’s Partnership Board for Peterborough City Council. He holds an enhanced DBS and is a current Parish Councillor
Michele Matthews
Bio to follow
