Meet the Team
Stuart Bennett
I have lived in Wormley for nearly 26 years, I have volunteered for British Red Cross for 12 years and volunteered for St John Ambulance for nearly 2 years so I am very community focused, love helping others and have knowledge of first aid.
I have a professional background in the area’s of training and technical support. I give blood and manage a few local fundraising tins. I enjoy listening to music, watching films and walking my dog.
Stuart Bennett
Partnership Member
Governance & Finance Subgroup Lead
Loretta Allen
I’ve volunteered and worked in the Third Sector for over 30 years and I hope I can use that knowledge to help WTBL build bridges in place of walls. I also hope that together we can grow the WTBL community and spread the word that WTBL is not just about belonging to something, it’s more about doing something together that makes belonging matter. If you feel this way too, please get in touch with WTBL and help us make a lasting change.
Loretta Allen
Chair of WTBL
Outreach & Engagement Subgroup Lead
Peter Cassell
I’ve lived in Wormley for many years and think it’s a great place to be, surrounded by wonderful countryside. I trained and worked as an artist and actor. I also make furniture and manage construction projects.
I got involved with Big Local in 2012 and have been on the Partnership since then. The concept of making substantial resources available to a community for residents to decide how they are utilised seemed like an irresistible opportunity.
As people are so geographically mobile today, communities don’t always form as naturally as they once did. The Big Local initiative is a catalyst that enables that process. I hope that through imaginative, creative actions the community can reach a place where everyone’s needs are met and young people growing up in the area really feel they have a future here.
Peter Cassell
Partnership Member
Legacy Subgroup Lead
David Birley
I have had a varied career including market inspector and management consultant. I am currently WasteAware Coordinator for the Hertfordshire Waste Partnership, a coalition of Hertfordshire Councils aimed at helping people to waste less. Born in Wakefield, I grew up in Weymouth, Preston, Liverpool, Belfast and Kent. After twenty years in London, I moved to Broxbourne in 1996 and have been here ever since! I am married with two grown up daughters, both back in London.
I am honoured to have been asked to join WTBL in early 2020, ahead of one of the most challenging times the project, and our community has experienced. I am interested in how communities can help themselves by working together to improve their environments.
David Birley
Partnership Member
Trustee, Broxbourne Big Local
Breda Higgins
My name is Breda Higgins and I’ve lived in Turnford for 14 years. I retired from Social Services four years ago and with time on my hands I joined WTBL three years ago.
The reason I chose Big Local is because it is a community led project, which is based in the community and has the community’s best interest at heart. With my knowledge from life and work I felt that I would be able to give something to the community and in return get to know the community I live in.
I lead the very popular, weekly health walks and as current Co-Chair, my hopes for WTBL are to strengthen the community we live in and to connect local residents together in making Wormley and Turnford a place to be proud of.
Breda Higgins
Partnership Member
Audra Heywood
My name is Audra Heywood-Cato. I am married with three teenagers and I live in Broxbourne. My purpose for volunteering was not just to talk about change – but to be that change through demonstration and serving on the Partnership to impact that change to WTBL. This led to my initial interest in joining the Partnership.
My involvement to WTBL is serving on the Youth Subgroup. My occupation involves working with young people at a school, and any opportunity for the continuity of this within the community is, in my opinion, brilliant!
Audra Heywood
Partnership Member
Seema Rajani
I’m Seema, born and bred in Greater Manchester, married in the West Midlands, lived and widowed in the Borough of Broxbourne, with two amazing, adult children.
My fascination of fabrics led me to work for approximately 20 years in the clothing industry as a Garment Technologist.
I believe myself to be a sociable and approachable character. In recent years I became interested in education and have been fortunate enough to share my creative spirit to help people learn, enjoy various crafts, including sewing, all of which directly benefit personal wellbeing.
I was inspired to join WTBL as I felt I could help to develop and facilitate a positive and inclusive community environment. It can be a struggle to engage the community around us, but we can all benefit from the sense of belonging to the local area. This is what motivates me to give my time to WTBL.
Seema Rajani
Partnership Member
Noelle Blackman
I am a psychotherapist and CEO of a national charity called Respond, we support autistic people and those with learning disabilities and their families who have experienced significant trauma. I have lived in Wormley for forty years and have two grown up children who each have families of their own.
I have been volunteering for WTBL since 2012 and was the Chair between 2017 and 2020. Consultations with the community have always highlighted that it was crucial to have a space where people could come together and where things could happen. My aim in becoming Chair was to secure the Community Centre as a legacy from the initiative.
I am thrilled that the Council have finally agreed to let WTBL have this building on a peppercorn rent for 999 years. I believe that we can revive this building to become a centre that will bring an energy that will transform our community.
Noelle Blackman
Partnership Member
Chair, Broxbourne Big Local
Adijat (Toun) Balogun
My name is Adijat (a.k.a Toun) Balogun. I am originally from Nigeria but have lived in England for over 34 years now, with half of that time being in Broxbourne. After working many years for the civil service and recently as a social action team lead for a religious organisation in London, I decided to dedicate my time to giving back to my local community and joined WTBL as a Partnership Member.
I love being part of WTBL because it gives me the opportunity to help meet the needs of the local community through resident led initiatives, thereby fostering a community spirit as well as creating a lasting legacy for the area.
Adijat (Toun) Balogun
Partnership Member
Trustee, Broxbourne Big Local
Zoe Edwards
I am Zoe Edwards and I am the new Wormley & Turnford Big Local Community Coordinator.
For the past 25 years, I have worked in various community front-line roles in the Animal Welfare Charity sector in London. As Head of Animal Welfare in the North West London area, I played a leading role in directing the operational strategy by developing and improving pro-active outreach projects in the community. This objective was to prevent animals from ending up in a shelter environment by actively supporting and keeping vulnerable pet owners and their animals together, improving both the lives of humans and animal welfare.
I have been a life-long resident of Wormley and Turnford. Born in Wormley Church Lane, and growing up on The Springs Estate, Turnford, I feel privileged to be able to be a part of WTBL’s project where I can help improve and make a difference in a community that is so close to my heart.
Zoe Edwards
Community Coordinator
Madeleine Clark
I spent my early years in Liverpool and the Isle of Man. After a brief spell working overseas I moved to London in the early ’90s and worked predominantly in IT. In 2001 I moved to Welwyn Garden City shortly before joining Hatfield House where I managed the residential portfolio for 17 years. During my time working in Hatfield I engaged with a number of local organisations helping tenants navigate their way through a wide variety of difficult challenges. In 2019, after many happy years, I left my role to focus on a year of community volunteering work before setting up my own property management consultancy.
I am delighted to sit as a WHCVS Trustee and actively contribute to the wellbeing of the Welwyn and Hatfield community. I still hope to deliver the delayed 2020 WGC Centenary Carnival in June 2022, subject to ongoing Covid restrictions being lifted.
I am thrilled to have joined Wormley & Turnford Big Local and am really looking forward to getting to know the Partnership and residents of Wormley and Turnford over the coming months.
Madeleine Clark
Development Manager
Community Centre Staff
Victoria Moore
My name is Victoria and I’m the Events & Marketing Officer for WTBL and Wormley Community Centre. I have been a Wormley resident since 2017 along with my husband and three sons, however I grew up ‘oop north’ in a village near Blackburn. My early career was in marketing and events and following that I started my own successful cake decorating business, but I’ve always liked the idea of working within the community that I live.
When I saw this position at WTBL advertised I knew it would be the perfect fit. I had been following the WTBL Facebook page for a while and loved what the organisation stood for and their aim to make a positive difference to the local community. There is always something interesting and exciting going on and I love being a part of this ever changing and expanding organisation!
Victoria Moore
Events & Marketing Officer
Community Centre Staff
Ian Richardson
My name is Ian Richardson and I have been involved with WTBL since its inception almost 10 years ago now. I am the Chief Officer of Community Voluntary Services for Broxbourne and East Herts (CVSBEH), who are appointed by the WTBL Partnership as their Locally Trusted Organisation (LTO). CVSBEH provides a range of support including financial management, employment, contracting services and governance advice to the WTBL Partnership.
Having worked in statutory and voluntary-based community services for over 30 years, I have gained extensive experience of the planning, governance, capacity building and effective delivery of community-based organisations. It has been a privilege to be part of the WTBL journey so far and I am looking forward to some more exciting times ahead for residents of Wormley and Turnford.
Ian Richardson
Local Trusted Organisation – CVSBEH
Lorraine Hart
I am Lorraine Hart and I am the representative from the Local Trust. I provide a direct link between Wormley & Turnford Big Local and Local Trust who are the funders of Big Local. I attend Partnership meetings and forums to help with governance, direction, and the overall running of the project
I live in Hackney and have carried out this role for four different Big Locals in the south east.
I am a big supporter of community ownership of land and buildings and have supported a lot of community based organisations to develop and improve land and buildings for community benefit and create Neighbourhood Plans.
This has covered housing, workspace, parks and playgrounds and multi-purpose community centres. It is interesting and challenging work and I am privileged to do it.
I love working with communities who care about their area as Big Local Partnerships do and learn an enormous amount from everyone I work with. I also love to share what I learn and have written guides and top tips for groups who want to go on a journey that create real benefits for their communities.