Meet the Team

The current steering committee consists of 9 members with a range of expertise – in legal matters, design, retail, sustainability and HR, and others who know Kirtlington well and volunteer for various village projects. We are all passionate about introducing the community shop model here bringing an important legacy project to the village.

We are looking for additional committee members with accountancy skills and also social media skills. If you are able to offer either of these, please get in touch.

The current team are the 'shadow' committee. The shop management committee will ultimately be elected by the shareholders further down the line. We thought it might be useful if we explained our roles and motivation in representing the village as a Community Benefit Society.

We could not even have begun our journey or come this far without the commitment, vision and experience of our architect, Andrew Banks, who is closely involved in all our planning.

To those that are critical of our efforts, we would like to suggest that it may well be more satisfying to offer support and help to make our community even stronger.

Celia Hawkesworth_Chair

Celia Hawkesworth *Current Chair*

I have lived in Kirtlington, with my husband, since 1972. When our much-loved Post Office Stores closed in 2020, I was one of a group of villagers who tried to find an alternative venue. Lockdown dispersed us, but I was still determined to try to find a way of ensuring an accessible and sustainable way for people to shop without getting into their cars.

The environmental group Sustainable Kirtlington, founded in 2007, is evidence of my commitment to sustainability and community action. Our major achievement has been the large solar panel installation at the Village Hall. With its battery storage, electric vehicle charging points, improved insulation and other energy-saving measures, the hall was granted Eco Centre status in 2013. 

I am committed to working wherever I can towards greater resilience in all aspects of our community's life and the fact that the shop project has drawn in such a great, multi-disciplinary team as its steering group is proof of the compelling power and value of our shared vision. The particular experience I bring is a career of teaching university students and managing a nationally-based grant-giving charity.

Michael Shackleton_Deputy-Chair

Michael Shackleton *Deputy-Chair*

I worked for thirty years as a European civil servant in the European Parliament and was conscious of how difficult it is to win consent for decisions passed from the top downwards. Society needs a good dose of bottom-up decisions where those affected by decisions enjoy the maximum degree of autonomy to shape their own lives.

After a decade of living in Kirtlington the prospect of having a village shop owned and run by villagers seems to me an ideal candidate for such a bottom-up project. Visits to other shops of this kind in Tackley and Islip and further afield, in Ewelme, Bledington and Wigginton have convinced me that we could create something special in this village which would bring people together in a common endeavour, designed to promote the interests of the village as a whole.

Raj Chandegra *Retail Advisor*

I grew up in London from my teenage years around retail. Since 1978, I have opened and managed six stores and a pub and restaurant. Three years ago, I decided to semi-retire and my wife and I moved out of London and settled in Kirtlington – probably one of the best decisions we’ve ever made in our lives.

Being of a retail background, we were particularly aware of the lack of a shop and I investigated the potential of opening a store in the village. At the Societies Fair in 2021 we learned of possible plans for a community shop.

I like working with the steering group team and am confident that we have a good range of expertise so, after careful consideration and analysis of the business potential, I believe that this project is a no-brainer.

Tessa Shellens *Legal Advisor*

I have been happily settled in the village since 2021. I was very keen to join this team to create a local shop owned by and benefitting the whole community. 

I am a retired Solicitor specialising in public law and system failure for government, the NHS and other organisations. I hold a strong belief in the value of communities working together for each other. I am a current and previous board member of a number of charities and community based organisations including a progressive YMCA, a successful Credit Union in a deprived area and a classical Music Festival which is nationally broadcast.

Pete Shellens *Treasurer*

Emigrating from Wales 3 years ago, we were immediately struck by how friendly people were in Kirtlington. We quickly realised there were few places for everyone to meet and share news and views. I have tried to walk to a shop safely but I don’t like walking down the white line on Bletchington Road. Neither could walking to village shops in Weston-on-the-Green and Tackley be construed as ‘popping to the shops’.

I have significant familiarity with the blood, sweat and tears necessary to make voluntary projects work but also the camaraderie, laughter and sense of achievement that I have experienced as volunteer, manager and trustee. A village project using villagers’ time, investment and ingenuity offers a tantalising way forward.

Anne Blackwell *Secretary*

I have enjoyed living in Kirtlington for eight years and have been an active member of the WI getting to know some amazing women. My first career was in corporate governance as a company secretary but after a career break, had a second career with Citizens Advice supporting people through challenging times and coordinating volunteers. I am a volunteer for Age UK dementia cafe and also a volunteer helping young readers in an Oxford school. 

Imogen Hammond *Digital & Design Advisor*

I spent my childhood years living in Kirtlington and returned from London to live in the village again in 2022. I became involved with the shop steering committee in early 2023 when we were distributing questionnaires asking what villagers wish to see in their future village shop. I was inspired by the conversations I had and saw first-hand villagers’ enthusiasm to create a shop by the people for the people. I have now visited a number of Community Shops and seen how they operate, what they look like, where they are positioned in their villages and how wonderfully they reflect the needs of their specific communities.

My work in digital technology and also as an art director, set designer, events planner and painter decorator offers some practical creativity to the steering committee. I enjoyed contributing to styling the 2 farmers’ markets in 2023, and building this website.

Barbara Kemp *HR*

I have lived in the village for 10 years and have sought to support the Kirtlington community by involvement in the Film Club and the Village Fete. My background is in HR and training and development, and I have worked on a consultancy basis with a range of businesses both profit and not-for-profit in the UK and overseas. I currently volunteer in the Oxford Branch of a national mental health charity, and have held posts there as a trustee and head of fundraising.

Amanda Carpenter *Sustainability Advisor*

I have recently moved to the village. I have experience as a Trustee and Non-Executive Director within the sustainability sector. I run my own business dedicated to embedding sustainability across the legal sector; seeking to support net zero transitions and client engagement. I have a background in organisational development and strategy and host a successful environmental podcast.