Parish Councillors

Hugh Street is responsible for Neighbourhood Plan and Planning Applications

I have lived in Earls Colne for 27 years, prior to that Colne Engaine for 9 years.

I joined the PC in November 2018.

No previous council experience.

Manager and Director for a distribution company.

Have travelled all around the world

Jackie Parish is responsible for the Village Hall

I grew up in Ilford and first worked as a civil servant for the Inland Revenue, initially in the local Tax Office and then in the City.

I married and moved to Chelmsford; where my two sons were born; then re-locating to Earls Colne when my sons were 4 and 2 years old. They attended Earls Colne Primary School.

When my youngest son started school, I began a daily drive to College in Clacton and trained for 3 years  to become a teacher. I taught at several local Primary schools, over a period of about 35 year and retired a few years ago.

I am a keen gardener, love music, art, reading and the theatre and I am a member of the local drama group, Stane Street Players.

I developed an interest in local government and became an Earls Colne Parish Councillor several years ago. I have enjoyed it and have gained a huge insight  into local  politics and an understanding of the  amount of work it involves.

Martyn Jackson is responsible for Village Environment

Although I have lived in Earls Colne for over 25 years I am a new comer to the Parish Council of a few weeks. I have some previous experience working as an Officer for Babergh & Mid Suffolk District Councils in the IT and Information Governance teams, where I worked closely with District Councillors, other Council teams and local residents. Prior to this  I have worked for 2 or 3  major Telecommunication companies both in the UK and abroad in a number of managerial and technical roles.

Nik Mckean is responsible for the Village Hall

I have lived in the village with my family for 15 years. I joined the parish council in 2019 as I was keen to be involved in the village environment which I am proud to live in. When not at work, I can often be seen out walking in the surrounding countryside with my 2 spaniels and love nothing more than an early morning walk around Chalkney woods. Aside from work and family, I have been an active member of the village scout group for the past 10 years where all 3 of my children have attended. My wife, Cherry, has recently opened a new shop in village with her business partner, which is an extension of our passion for environmental issues. My other interests include classic cars, sports ( in particular rugby and motor racing) and socialising in the various hostelries in the village.

Nikki Spelling is the Chair

I moved to Earls Colne in Dec 1989 when my husband moved here for work. We had one son then, followed by a daughter in ‘91, who both attended Earls Colne Primary School. I was a school governor for a while.

I worked as a Nurse Practitioner in a doctor’s surgery in Colchester before retiring in 2018, when I joined the Parish Council.

The Council has changed drastically since I first joined and I hope it is on its way to being a force for good in the village.

Katy is responsible for Communications

I have spent most of my life in Hornchurch, then a short amount of time in Basildon before relocating to Earls Colne at the start of October 2020.

I primarily chose to move to Earls Colne as living in a large town during COVID made me realise that I wanted to be in a close-knit community where I would know my neighbours. I bought my house on the CALA development and it’s been one of the best decisions that I’ve made! Recently married (November 2022) to Paul, we also have his son Hugo with us regularly. We both feel that Earls Colne is a great place for our family and love living here.

I describe myself as a life-long student and I’m qualified at Post-Graduate level in Strategic Management & Leadership, Employment Law and Learning & Teaching. I’m a Chartered Manager and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. I work full-time for a University as Head of Skills Development which means my teams support the professional and academic skills of approximately 10,000 international students. We have campuses in London, Manchester, and Birmingham. Outside of the day job, I am also a qualified Personal Trainer, Nutritionist (with an interest in nutrition for the over 40’s) and Group Exercise Instructor.

My reason from joining the Parish Council is to get more involved with the community that has been so welcoming to us. I would like to use my strengths in communication and engagement to help reach more people so that there is an increased awareness of what is happening in the village, our facilities, and our services and how we can support each other as a community.

Ray Ranns is responsible for the Working Group Activity-Communication and Assett Management/Finance

Originally from West London, I’ve been an Essex resident since 1987 living in Chelmsford and moving to Braintree in 2011.

I retired from my main career, after 33 years with the Electrical Supply Industry in 2011, having worked in engineering and computing., leading and delivering large business change projects in the UK, the USA and France. I then worked in consultancy and contract work , mainly based in London, until 2020. I now have finally and completely retired (unless I’m told otherwise) and relish the opportunity to add value and provide service to my community.

I have qualifications in electrical engineering, mathematics and computing and I am a chartered member of the British Computer Society. 

Deciding to downsize in 2020, my partner and I were always keen to move to a village location and we have always been very fond of the Colnes. As such, It seemed a ‘no brainer’ to settle in Earls Colne once we’d made the decision to move. This move is to be our last and we’re very settled and happy here. Although we’re on a new part of the village, we appreciate the history and the look and feel of the area. We moved in during lockdown, in 2020.

I have no long-term political ambitions, but am very keen to be involved in helping to steer the strategy for the future of the village and to help with day-to-day running of the facilities and services of the area. This is why I, earlier this year, I became a parish councillor.

Tony Calton is responsible for Vice Chair and Neighbourhood Plan and Planning Applications

I have lived in Earls Colne since 2011 having previously lived in various locations in Essex and Kent and also spent five years in South Africa. I have a daughter, son-in-law and two grandsons who live in the neighbouring village of White Colne.

I qualified as a chartered civil engineer and during a career spanning over 40 years have worked for consulting engineers, local authorities, housebuilders, public utilities and building material manufacturers. For the last five years before retiring from full time work I was the managing director of a European trade association based in Brussels which represents a large group of multi-national building product manufacturers. I now work part time organising technical conferences on behalf of the members of the trade association.

I have been a parish councillor since 2018 taking responsibility for the development of the Earls Colne Neighbourhood Plan. 

Earlier this year I was elected as vice chair of the parish council following the retirement of the previous incumbent