John has served as a Malvern Hills Trustee since 2011 (having been nominated to this role by Malvern Hills District Council).  He and his wife, Susan, have lived in West Malvern for some forty-four years, and was first elected a District Councillor for the West Ward in 2000 (following several years as a parish councillor).  He has also served as the County Councillor for the area for eight years. 

Following an early career path as a social science researcher, John joined the University of Birmingham’s Institute of Local Government Studies in 1979, eventually becoming Professor of Public Governance, and Head of Department.  Although he formally retired from the University in 2016, he has remained academically active as a part-time consultant researcher and teacher for his Department. 

He has long been strongly committed to the ‘green’ agenda and, in 2019, on becoming ‘portfolio-holder for the Environment’ at Malvern Hills DC, he was instrumental in the development of the Council’s zero carbon policy framework (‘Destination Zero’).  More recently, he has also been serving as the Council’s ‘Heritage Champion’ and chairs the Joint Advisory Committee of the Malvern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). 

John joined the Malvern Hills Trust (for a second time) in 2015, and serves on both the Finance & Administrative Committee and the Governance Committee.  As Chair of Governance for four years, he has been playing an active role in the work to update the Trust’s governing Acts and make them more appropriate for the twenty first century - work that remains on-going.