Forum members
The Kent Countryside
Access Forum members are local people who ensure a reasonable
balance of interests between:
- users of the local rights of way
- owners and occupiers of the land
- a third group of other interests representing such as
conservation, tourism, and the rural economy.
You can contact any of the following members of the Forum using
the general contact details for the Kent Countryside Access Forum,
found on this page.
Please state which member of the Forum you wish to contact and
provide details of how you can be contacted.
Anne Beecham - Chair
Born and brought up in Dover, Anne studied Geology at
university. She has worked for 30 years in the oil industry in
various locations worldwide for Shell and is currently an
independent consultant in asset validation and valuation.
Anne started riding horses at the age of 4 years in Kearsney
Abbey (Dover) and has ridden all her life in Kent, the UK and
abroad. She is a life member of the British Horse Society involved
with improving equestrian access for the last 20 years. Posts
include Bridleway Officer for the Royal Oak Riding Club, East Kent
Bridleway Users Group co-ordinator, KCC Equestrian Working Group
member and previous KLAF Equestrian Users Representative. She is
also a member of Toll Rides Off-Road Trust (TROT) and a volunteer
for Riding for the Disabled.
Anne lives with her husband and 12-year old son on a
smallholding in the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
(AONB) where they breed Jacob sheep for meat, wool and pasture
management. She rides her horse several times a week, walks daily
with the dog and cycles occasionally with her family.
Nick Johannsen - Land Owner/Manager Representative
Nick was brought up on a farm in Suffolk and came to Kent 20
years ago to study at Wye College; he liked it here and has worked
and lived here ever since.
Before becoming the Director of the Kent Downs AONB, Nick worked
in land management for landscape, wildlife and people. Nick has
worked on sites as diverse as Dungeness National Nature Reserve,
Samphire Hoe and Stelling Minnis Common. The Kent Downs AONB is a
nationally important landscape covering a quarter of the county.
Balancing the need for access with other components of this
wonderful place is an important part of the strategic work of the
Kent Downs AONB Unit.
Jan Loveless - Access For All Representative
Jan is an Access consultant and a committee member of Ashford
Access Forum. As the Director of Access Matters UK, Jan works with
organisations around the UK advising them on their duties under the
Disability Discrimination Act (DDA, 1995 and 2005) and assisting
them in finding appropriate and cost-effective ways of meeting
these.
Jan's special interests are in educational, heritage and
countryside access. Her work includes access audits of the built
environment and of open spaces and the preparation of access plans
for Heritage Lottery Fund bids. A core feature of her working
method is to hear and take note of the experience of current and
potential users of the environment, especially those with
disabilities.
Neville Machin - Walking Representative
Neville was brought up on the borders of Staffordshire and
Cheshire and moved to Kent in 1973 as he pursued a career in the
pharmaceutical industry. On retiring in 1996, he renewed his
interest in mountaineering and trekking.
He is an active member of the Ramblers Association and is
currently the Public Rights of Way manager for the association
covering Kent. His other interests are science, classical music,
gardening and natural history.
Richard Dickenson – Vehicular User Representative
PC Michael (Geordie) Laidlow – Environmental Crime
Representative
Ray Blackwell - Cycling User Representative
Anne Rillie - Equestrian User Representative