Philip Benstead
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- Victoria , London, UK
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CTC Members
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Please find details of the recent election in the South East Region.
Rather disappointing turnout, how much support was there for the election in your area.
Did your members
Just forget about it?
Could not be bothers?
Did they not understand it?
Did you vote in the recent CTC Council election?
If yes, what influence your decision?
If no, what influence your decision?
Election to CTC National Council for the period 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2018
Returning Officer’s Report
In accordance with the rules of CTC, nominations were invited for election to CTC National Council to represent the Regions shown below for the period 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2018, subject to the results of the governance review. Nominations closed on 15 August 2015.
The nominations received by the closing date are as follows.
Region Nominations received and results
North West (2 Seats) One nomination was received by the closing date.
Welna Bowden is therefore declared elected to Council for the period 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2018.
There is one vacant seat.
East Midlands (1 seat) One nomination was received by the closing date.
Jaki Lowe is therefore declared elected to Council for the period 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2018.
South East (3 seats) Eight nominations were received by the closing date.
A total of 170 ballot papers (1.83% of eligible members) were returned by the closing date, in addition 24 were declared spoilt (no membership number provided).
Following the process for STV the following candidates are therefore declared elected to Council for the period 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2018:
• Jonathon Naughton
• Ian McCabe
• Ian Wescombe
This report is circulated to Chair of Council, Chief Executive and members submitting nominations and will be submitted to the next meeting of Council for formal ratification.
All appointments to Council are subject to the newly elected Councillor signing the CTC Code of Conduct for Council, HMRC fit and proper persons declaration, the Charity Commission declaration of eligibility for newly appointed trustees and an interview with the Chair.
Results will be announced in the next issue of Cycle magazine.
Carol McKinley
Returning Officer
CTC NATIONAL COUNCIL
ELECTION FOR SOUTH EAST REGION 2015
Stage 1
1 Bates, Richard 19
2 Benstead, Philip 17
3 Clare, Doug 18
4 Johnston, Andrew Withdrew – votes transferred
5 McCabe, Ian 31
6 Naughton, Jonathon 37
7 Smith, Graham 21
8 Wescombe, Ian 27
Stage 2
1 Bates, Richard 21
3 Clare, Doug 21
5 McCabe, Ian 35
6 Naughton, Jonathon 41
7 Smith, Graham 23
8 Wescombe, Ian 27
Stage 3
5 McCabe, Ian 46
6 Naughton, Jonathon 52
7 Smith, Graham 29
8 Wescombe, Ian 36
Stage 4
5 McCabe, Ian 46
6 Naughton, Jonathon 52
8 Wescombe, Ian 36
Candidates' Statements
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Richard Bates
I am seeking a further term as a CTC Councillor for SE England – 1 of 3 for the Region.
I am now retired and can devote more time to my passion for cycling which has been as a Utility/ Commuter and Campaigner and now I hope to do a bit more leisure cycling. I have learnt a lot about cycle culture as a result of being a CTC Life Member and also a Councillor representative. I have attended most of the Member Group AGM's in the Region which extends from Southampton to Dover up to Oxford but not London.
I have been involved with Right to Ride Campaigning and welcome the review for CTC to deliver Cycle Advocacy through it's network of dedicated volunteers. I was first involved with campaigns in Brighton with Bricycles and then SPOKES in Mid Sussex where I live. I am also involved with Crawley Council Cycle Forum and the West Sussex Cycling Forum with only tacit agreement with the County Council which is the Highways Authority without a Cycling Officer. I have attended Cycle Forums representing CTC, most recently CYCLE CITY in Newcastle.
In my role as a democratically elected Local Authority representative, I have been able to vent the case for Cycling and more recently the health benefits. I also helped to set up a Local Charity Bike ride which is attracting 1000 riders but where do all those cyclists go the rest of the year! CTC needs to be involved in recruiting more Members. Currently, CTC is in transition with the CEO still bedding in Strategy objectives and the obligation to administer in accordance with it's Charity Status means a Governance Review and overall to have a clear Re-brand Identity. I have been pro-active (and critical) in discussions to date and feel that an experienced voice is needed on Council to deliver a CTC that will attract more cyclists and a body that influence Government proposals for cycling.
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Philip Benstead
I am a cyclist who is committed to the promotion of non-competitive cycling.
CTC and the future of cycling - We need to learn from our successes and reflect upon our setbacks, so that we can effectively provide services and benefits to members and the cycling community. Our change of status has given mixed results over the last three years. Recently CTC has reconfigured its resources / staff to reduce some services and increase others. While we have gained some new ground on campaigning and marketing initiatives, the promised gift aid on subscription has not been realised. These developments need to be evaluated and conclusions drawn.
CTC Role: Be a LEADER and not a follower in non-competitive cycling, Seek new ways to serve it members and the cycling community, Make cycling “normal” that it can be undertaken by anybody in normal clothes, Campaign for a physical environment that encourages less confident individuals to cycle in an urban and rural setting.
CTC needs to: Talk to its members and the cycling community to evaluate the services and activities that are needed and wanted, Develop its skills/knowledge base at all levels, particularly local volunteers, Support and develop our local groups and make them relevant and attractive to newcomers, Live within our financial means and control resources by having an effective, democratic and transparent decision-making process.
Background - Volunteered from local to national level and served on many committees both within and outside the CTC, often acting as chair/secretary and trustee of a cycling charity. Local: Founder / secretary of cycling groups, Outdoor Events Officer, Social Secretary etc. National: Organised British Cyclist Touring Competition and National 400 in Kent. Instigated CTC staff recruitment procedure; drafted Cycle Carriage on Trains policy, developed regional constitution and scrutinized the data protection policy; CTC Holiday and Tours non-Executive Company Director. Acted as CTC representative on behalf of the West Kent DA at local authority level; more recently dealt with City of Westminster and government agencies; have contributed to consultations by British Waterways, regional transport bodies for the provision of major cycle infrastructure etc. Led touring rides for CTC West Kent DA, now for CTC Central London in south east England and established a Meetup Grouphttp://www.meetup.com/SocialCycling4N2GC/Paris-Brest-Paris, 24-hour and time trial etc.
Cycle toured all over the British Isles and 20 countries and led 21 tours to Europe / USA. DfT National Standard Cycle Instructor Trainer / Cycle Mechanic. BSc (Hons) Environmental Science; Certificate in Marketing. Age 62; CTC since 1971 (Life Member). Thank you for reading this. Please use your vote.
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Doug Clare
Cycling is one of my great passions. My cycling preferences are firstly as a mountain biker taking advantage of the Surrey hills, various Sustrans Coast to Coast rides, and events like the Sani2C in South Africa and the Passportes du Soleil in the Alps. I am also a qualified mountain bike Trail Cycle Leader, and regularly lead group rides. Then secondly as a road biker training for and riding many Sportives including five Etape du Tours, two Dragon Rides and all three Pru Ride Londons. Finally I have just completed my first cycle touring holiday along the Normandy beaches and can now say that I am a pannier convert!
Over the years I have dealt with most Local Authority Planning Departments in the area and worked on influencing Local Plans through the long winded planning process. An example I am currently working on with the local CTC Rep is the Welborne Development proposal for 6000 houses near Fareham. We have proposed cycleway design involvement, the funding and construction of a Velo Park and funding to integrate the site in a proposed Cycle Super Highway from Portsmouth to Southampton. An expensive shopping list but if you don’t ask you don’t get!
Much work still needs to be done to make cycling safer as I discovered when my children relocated to London where they commute by bike. My daughter has now been knocked off her bike twice by a motorbike and a car – neither were her fault. Fortunately only the bikes were written off and she walked away with a broken tooth and lots of bruising.
This has motivated me to want to improve the safety of cycling, cycle infrastructure and cycling’s image, and the best way I have found to achieve this is to offer my services to the CTC who I consider to be the foremost cycle campaigner.
Some of the main challenges for the CTC which I consider I can help with are :-
• To work on improving the relationship between Cyclists, Pedestrians, Car Drivers and Lorry Drivers. This needs education and understanding on all sides.
• To continue the great work towards safer cycling and a much improved cycling infrastructure. Thanks to CTC and other Cycle Campaign Groups there is a political momentum building which must be encouraged and financed.
• I want the CTC to become the go to organisation for all cyclists, including mountain bikers, a motorist’s equivalent of the AA/RAC. With the current boom in cycling it should have at least one million members, as you can see I believe in aiming my sights high! I will work to promote it as a campaigning and service organisation for all cyclists but this must not be at the expense of dropping any of its existing roles.
With the knowledge I have developed, both in running my own business and the various project work I have been involved in, I believe I am well qualified to take on the role and accept the responsibility of being a CTC National Councillor, Trustee and Director.
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Andrew Johnston
I am a charity Chief Executive who first joined the CTC at the age of 12. I have been cycling throughout my life and am currently one of the Committee members (and former chair) of Fleet Cyclingwww.fleetcycling.org.uk. I am currently CEO of the Boys Brigade – a Christian youth organisation serving Britain and Ireland. I have been in senior roles with the Hostelling International and a number of international organisations. In my earlier days I worked as a ski instructor. I am keen to take on a challenging governance role to complement my professional role at the BB.
My knowledge for the cycling sector is perhaps best demonstrated by the achievements of Fleet Cycling – a thriving and growing group which recently took part in the Semaine Federale in France. As a Green Party candidate I was active advocating for more investment in greener forms of transport. I have a broad experience of cycling in other countries including Australia and Vietnam as well as throughout Europe.
As a CEO with over 80 staff I am a competent team builder and am passionate about engaging stakeholders in clear and deliverable strategies. I believe that the Council should represent members interests through both face to face and online engagement opportunities. I would like to see more communication regionally (Hampshire Green Party has recently started a very useful online forum and annual meeting) and a clear strategy document with some big goals for the future of CTC to be shared at local AGMs.
I would foresee two major opportunities for CTC being:
• Families – the growth of Pedal2Gether in Fleet proves that there are many families seeking opportunities to cycle in groups with older children/teenagers.
• Non touring sectors – I argued with the previous CTC CEO for a commuter section within CTC and I engage with a large number of non CTC members through my Commuter blog on but equally we are exploring a mountain bike sector.
I see two major challenges for CTC:
• Brand – I simply don’t think the brand is strong enough to benefit from the wave of cycling interest and people still ask ‘what is CTC’ thinking it is for another form of cycling. With great respect and admiration for the heritage of CTC I would support a move to Cycling Together or another well presented brand which communicated the ethos of the organisation and was fit for purpose for the next 100 years.
• Delivery – CTC must deliver clear and tangible benefits. Communication must be high quality and timely and membership should deliver benefits for those who renew successive years. Some of the CTC challenges which Fleet Cycling has faced at an administrative level (not wanting to use the word touring) caused severe problems to those of us advocating for CTC.
As a Council member, I would hold the organisation to account, serve members and move CTC forward whilst honouring the legacy of those who have gone before.
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Ian McCabe
I love cycling and would like the opportunity to serve on the CTC council to promote cycling in a productive and inspiring way. I have been commuting from Kent to London since 1987. Initially it was only occasionally but when I decided to enter my first ever triathlon at the age of 52 in 2012, cycling became my daily means of commuting so I am extremely aware of the issues that my fellow commuters face. Over the years I have seen a huge increase in the number of cyclists in London, especially since the Olympics which is great to see, however, there is still plenty to do to make the road layouts and road surfaces more cycle friendly and to improve the relationship between motorists and cyclists.
I become a CTC member just over a year ago following a recommendation from a friend and I am really impressed by the diverse ways in which our members contribute to cycling and want to see that continue.
I have worked for a large corporation for 25 years and am used to following and implementing strategy. For most of that time I have also been a union representative and I get a huge amount of pleasure in resolving differences and achieving outcomes that are satisfactory to both union members and the company.
It is very important that CTC has the leadership from its council and that council members are aware of its charitable obligations and they deliver services that take into account the wide variety of members we have. Cycling has been in the news a lot recently, some good and some bad, and now is a critical time to influence the planners, policy makers and politicians to do the best for cycling. I believe the passion I have for cycling and the skills I have picked up during my working life will enable me to serve on the council in a way that benefits cycling in all its aspects and I would love to be given that opportunity.
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Jonathon Naughton
As a CTC member from 17 years old in 1980, to today, the CTC has accompanied cycling as a core element through my life: a place from which I gain perspective in my career in land use & transport. I therefore see the CTC as the ‘go to’ place for cyclists; from assisting young people with value for money independent advice, in an otherwise monetised world, through a lifecycle of cycling.
My initial motivation was cycle camping; the independence and appeal of carrying just what you need in an environment you are at one with. This extends to the people you meet and the tea rooms and as was, transport cafes. I see cycling as the human scale testing of our highways and byways and of our towns and villages, ‘designed’ as they were; pre-combustion engine. Road and car width is both a personal and professional obsession - as evidenced by phrases like ‘Oi, get over !
As a tandem club member with children, trailer bike and camping gear this gave an extreme cycle camping perspective; particularly on rail provision! I cycle camped LEJOG in 2011 with my wife. I am a laid back Audaxer but rode 200 miles in a 15 hour day in 2014 (not my norm!) I was a Trustee of Birmingham Settlement, for eight years, which runs 20+ charitable enterprises and initiated National Debtline. It has 20+ funding sources, from Local Authority, grants and donations.
My attendance at the recent AGM has reinforced my thought that I could be helpful in unifying the strategies, budgets and people at the heart of the CTC. I would be unafraid to work through areas that are seen as problems.
Cycling is ‘the new golf’ and the CTC need to ensure its traditions are recognised by the monied cyclists who could ‘put something back’, be confident that it houses cycling’s foundations and maintain a clear menu of membership costs and services. As a member of the LCC I am amazed at the lack of awareness of CTC among those who share our aims.
CTC can maintain uncluttered value for money advice on minimum cost per mile and max ease of cycling. Its databases (the core of any efficient organisation) could drive user specific technical advice and route information and be leveraged into assisting the greatest number of people at the minimum cost.
As a Chartered Surveyor, I have chaired our Policy Panel on Land Use & Infrastructure since 2006 and critiqued governance reviews. My business is Urban Futureswww.urbanfutures.co.uk. On parking, work includes the impacts of the law and design that prioritises the customer over the car. I am promoting Garden Cities which includes liason with various arms of Government, 20 minutes’ walk from our offices in SE1. Ufumisms ‘a business plan for town centres’ is our and Urban Movements’ initiative that seeks to unify local authority and private expenditure across the public realm within a people focussed plan for town centres.
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Graham Smith
Graham Smith is one of three CTC Councillors for the South East of England. He has served on the Strategy and Policy Committee.
Passion for cycling - He first joined the CTC in the early 1960s, riding with the Birmingham Northern DA, eventually in the ‘hard-riders’ section where, in his mid teens, he was Runs Secretary for a few seasons. He was a junior finalist in the CTC Cycle-Tourist Competition held in Buxton. He re-discovered cycling with an Italian racing bike in the 80s and, as a vet, raced in England and Italy, until a medical condition prevented competition.
Leadership in ideas - Graham has Masters degrees in Urban Design and Fine Art and lectured at Oxford Brookes University in Architecture and Urban Design. He continues as an independent consultant. His interest is in the layout of development and design of movement, the experience of users and the behaviours imposed by the highway. He researched ‘Cyclists’ Perceptions of Risk’ and has published papers, with colleagues. The highway is both a place and a connection for people and activities and not mainly for motor vehicles. He has a wide knowledge of European approaches and the extent to which they benefit people cycling. In the 80s with a small number of others, and focused around Transport 2000 (CBT), he helped advance the ideas of ‘environmental traffic management’, traffic calming, Homezones and ways of enabling people to make journeys by bike.
Team work - As a Councillor he has been helping develop CTC’s ideas about effective approaches to cycling provisions and mechanisms for change to benefit all cyclists.
He is passionate about improving urban quality and coauthored a seminal urban design text: ‘Responsive Environments’, setting out how our environment may be designed for the improvement of all users’ choices. He has worked successfully in teams competing in architecture/urban design competitions, developments and urban regeneration projects. He has acted as an Expert Witness in urban design. He helped introduce a course in the financial feasibility of design and development economics.
Representative role - He has spoken at a number of conferences for CTC. He is an active member of Oxford’s ‘Cyclox’ pressure group and works with the CTC Right-to-Ride officer. He was instrumental in helping form the Oxfordshire Cycling Network, which brings together many cycling groups in the County and focuses campaigning on the County Council Highways and the Local Enterprise Partnership.
Challenges - Cycling has many voices, and the noise sometimes drowns the message.
• As a member of Council I would bring my energy and broad experience to influence the designers of the physical environment, i.e. the politicians and engineers at both local and National level who decide our road environment.
• For decades the transport system has been run as if only for motorised transport but we are in a period now where the limitations of that approach are clear, where players are seeking ways forward to benefit all road users and all potential cyclists.
• I would seek to mend the link between CTC and local groups campaigning for better infrastructure.
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Ian Wescombe
I’ve entered this election to try and provide some new blood to the organisation and offer my experience as a serving company director, as a trustee of a not for profit organisation, as a former parish councillor in the Sevenoaks district and my passion for cycling and all it offers to individuals and to society as a whole.
I believe it’s very important that CTC has the leadership from its council that delivers the services to the members that they want and need while meeting the charitable obligations of promoting cycling for all and lobbying for better infrastructure. I think that these two objectives are perfectly compatible but it is incumbent on the councillors to facilitate an environment where neither one suffers at the expense of the other. I am keen to play my part in fostering a situation where this can always remain the case in the future.
I have held a directorship in an SME for the past fourteen years and previously held senior commercial roles in blue chip organisations. I’m comfortable with the legal obligations that a CTC councillor has as a director and equally confident as an experienced business person when reviewing business planning and results. I am not shy when it comes to asking the hard questions that are sometimes needed to establish the context of those results. I am currently a trustee for a south coast sailing club and have a solid understanding of the obligations toward governance that go with this part of the role. In addition to cycling my sport and fitness history includes sailing (both as a competitive and cruising sailor) and rugby union as a player and (once the knees had gone!) as a coach. I have held roles in the leadership teams of clubs in both sports in the past.
Like many members I learned to ride a bike shortly after I learned to walk and have used a bike for transport, recreation and holidays ever since. In addition to cycling specific holidays we generally take either our road or mountain bikes with us whenever we go away for a weekend to experience a ride somewhere new and different. We’ve been lucky enough to cycle in many areas of Britain, several European countries and even in the US.
I think the next few years will be critical in promoting cycling as a viable first choice for social, domestic and pleasure travelling over short to medium distances. A strong and active organisation that has a diverse and growing membership can lead the national debate that will create the space for this to happen. CTC is well positioned with the history and gravitas to be that organisation and I would welcome the opportunity to represent you and your views of how that debate should be conducted to the benefit of the current and future members.
Philip Benstead say that this election was held under single transferable vote, it been state the CTC will not publish the full result has it may up set possible candidate.
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