Meet the group of people who have stepped up to help lead the project. Between us, we bring a wide mix of skills, experience, local knowledge and enthusiasm to make Bickleigh Mill a success.
Steve Batt
Steve is a retired senior officer who worked in the Economic Office attached to the Chief Executive at Devon County Council. In this role he led community projects across Devon. After early retirement he developed similar community partnership initiatives across the UK. He has experience in securing funding and developing cross-sector and community-led partnerships. Thirty years of experience has taught him that we need many more community enterprises such as Bickleigh Mill to secure a viable future for all, especially young people. He lives in Bickleigh.
Pauline Dodsworth
Pauline has a degree in Law, and in Adult Education, and is also a CELTA qualified English teacher. Originally from the UK, she spent 45 years living in Germany before settling near Cruwys Morchard in 2023. While in Germany, she founded, ran and sold three companies, lectured in English Contract Law and the English Legal System at Darmstadt University, and examined for Cambridge in Frankfurt. Having been a former president of the European Legal English Teachers Association, international committee work, the organisation of conferences plus involvement in various clubs and socially based organisations provides additional experience to bring to the Bickleigh Mill project.
Tara Fraser
Tara is a yoga teacher trainer for the British Wheel of Yoga, an advanced certified rolfer and the author of five best-selling yoga books. In 2016 Tara moved to Devon and opened Ashley Court, a country house venue with her partner Nigel Jones. They are restoring the Grade II listed building and its walled organic kitchen garden using traditional rural skills and low-tech approaches. Tara considers the Exe Valley to be one of the most precious yet overlooked environments in Devon. She is passionate about caring for it and helping locals and visitors to make the most of this natural resource for health, recreation and joy.
Matt Hayes
Matt is a qualified architect and passivhaus designer and a director of Folia Architects. Prior to forming Folia Architects, Matt was a co-founding director at Arbor Architects, and a Project Architect at Architype. He has successfully delivered a number of exemplar Passivhaus projects including the first Passivhaus Plus building in the UK: Bicester Eco Centre. He is a hands-on architect with a strong focus on education and environmental issues and has self-built several projects. He lives in Bickleigh.
Peggy Heuer
Born in Germany, Peggy has lived around the world, including the US and Australia. Five years ago, she made the concious decision to step back from the corporate world and embrace rural life in Bickleigh. She has a Master’s degree in Engineering and has spent over a decade as a project manager and welding engineer. Today, she runs a micro farm with her partner, featuring an orchard, organic-fed poultry and bees producing local honey. She also taps into her creative side as an artist, crafting her own jewellery and illustrations. She is deeply excited about the potential of Bickleigh Mill to create a dedicated outlet to showcase regional artists and artisan produce.
Lisa Kill
Lisa is a former Bickleigh Mill employee with a background in hospitality management. She has experience running busy hospitality businesses, including budgeting, staffing and working with suppliers. At the Mill she started as a waitress, and went on to manage day-to-day operations in the cafe, giving her first-hand knowledge of what makes the Mill tick. She is committed to supporting the long-term success of Bickleigh Mill as a sustainable community asset. She lives in Cheriton Fitzpaine.
Tom Knight
Tom works as a Customer Success Lead at Microsoft. He has spent much of his career leading large technology and change programmes in the public and private sectors, including policing, justice and central government. He is a hands-on self-builder, with practical experience of project delivery, budgeting and raising investment. He enjoys community-led projects and helping turn ambitious ideas into workable plans. He lives just outside Cadleigh.
Michael McAndrew
Michael’s day job is helping non-profits and co-operatives make better use of technology. He helps organisations fundraise, campaign, manage their memberships, and so on with a strong emphasis on training, community building and open source. He currently spends a lot of time helping community enterprises run community share offers. He is looking forward to seeing Bickleigh Mill become a space where people come together to work together and collaborate. He lives in Bickleigh.
Matt Melksham
Matt is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and heads up a local accounting office. He has 23 years of experience advising businesses and organisations across agriculture, pharmaceuticals, professional services, renewable energy, hospitality and the charitable sector and supports a wide range of businesses in the local area. He is a local school governor and trustee of several organisations and is very supportive of the Bickleigh Mill project. He lives in Bickleigh.
James Vigne
James spent 35 years in the British Army, finishing as Head of the Army Efficiency Programme. He is a Chartered Project Professional and completed Oxford University’s Major Programme Leadership Academy. During his Army career he led major change programmes and was responsible for a multi-billion-pound portfolio of projects. With a background in biology and sustainability, he also led the Army’s Climate Change and Sustainability Programme. Relatively newly arrived in Devon, he’s keen to maintain a vibrant, local community in the Exe Valley. He lives just outside Bickleigh Village in the Burn Valley with his wife and sons.