Meet The Committee

Paul Moyle-Harris, Chair, is a retired GP. Born in Derbyshire, he moved to the area in 1995 and took over a single-handed medical practice. Under his leadership this subsequently grew into a four-partner practice with over 10,000 patients and a turnover of over £1m. It was rated as “outstanding for care” by the national inspectors. He brings this ability to lead, co-ordinate and motivate a team to the “Friends of The Ivy” campaign. He is a member of several village groups and committees and organises the “Annual Poppy Appeal” for the Royal British Legion. The Ivy is special to him, mainly because of wonderful times with friends and family. His other passions are playing golf and following Sheffield Wednesday.

Dave Mort, Vice Chair, became a regular customer of The Ivy Inn during the early 1980’s when he lived in nearby Quemerford, having been posted to RAF Lyneham as aircrew. Following a couple of further postings, he moved to Heddington in 1993 and has enjoyed the atmosphere, friendships and community spirit that the Ivy Inn has provided.  Many years’ experience as a military SNCO has enabled him to remain focused on priorities and initiatives and to help other members of the team in achieving its objectives.

Ben Barnes is another member of the Management Committee who has spent his whole life in Heddington and has deep roots in the community. He has spent most of his career working in the construction company founded by his father, Richard, and took over running that business several years ago. The company has a strong specialism in restoring, developing and extending historic character buildings—which means Ben is perfectly placed to help the project through its next phase of improving The Ivy, and will have an important part to play in managing future developments.

Dave Denny moved to Heddington in 2017 and became a Parish Councillor in 2021. For the previous twenty years he’d owned and run his own small executive search consultancy, while living in a Sussex village. So, he has experience of both the realities of running a business in which client service is crucial to success, and the importance of a vibrant pub in village life. The Ivy was vital to building new friendships to Dave and his wife, Ann; they are determined it must not be lost!

Faye Meakin moved to Stockley in July 2024, just a few weeks before the Ivy closed, an event which left her devastated! She was born in Cheltenham and moved to Wiltshire in 2012. Faye focussed on food marketing & business studies throughout her education, leading to a long career in the food and drink industry—which we all believe gives her special strengths to bring to the Management Committee. Her management of a successful village sports and social club, bar and charity-registered village hall for 15 years, is very closely aligned to our aims and plans. Faye and her family are keen to have the heart back in the village, and they intend to really become part of the community through enjoying the reopened Ivy.

Jeff Brown has spent all his 60 years in Stockley. He attended the village school, was in the cubs, scouts & youth club and was at the first Heddington & Stockley Steam rally in 1976. He now chairs this well‑loved event, alongside chairing the Heddington & Stockley Amenities Committee, serving on the Firework Committee, and having previously served as a Parish Councillor. His business background is in ready-mix concrete, and with his brother and two partners he built a business employing around 125 people across four regional depots which has now been sold. He is very passionate about village life and believes that restoring the Ivy Inn to its former glory will allow the community to meet and interact in this beautiful area.

Kate Howard began her career in business marketing before moving into the voluntary sector as a corporate fundraiser for the NSPCC. Kate also trained in floristry at Lackham Horticultural College and set up her own florist business in Marlborough over ten years ago, so she brings both fundraising and retail experience to our campaign. Since moving to the village in 2006, Kate has been involved in the Open Gardens events and currently coordinates the Christmas Nine Lessons and Carols service.  She believes that the history, setting, and atmosphere of The Ivy make it very special and sees saving it for the community as an exciting and important challenge. Kate enjoys walking on the hills above the Ivy and is currently tackling the Southwest Coast Path.

Kate Suter moved to Heddington in 2015 from a village in rural Berkshire. She has over 25 years’ experience in Retail Management, in which she worked with major national chains as well as running her own small specialist town centre business. She also ran her own Childcare business for over ten years. She is excited to be able to play a real part in helping get The Ivy back open, because she knows it’s so important to have a pub in the community, and her business experience makes her particularly aware of how crucial excellent customer service will be in making the business successful.

Liz Seward retired to Heddington in 2020 with her husband. Through making many new friends at the Ivy, they recognised that it was a treasure and necessity as a community hub. She loves walking in the hills around Heddington and feels there would be no better place to return for refreshments than the Ivy. Liz worked for ten years with Booker Health Foods eventually becoming Distribution Central Accountant. After a family break, she joined Cleves Academy, a middle school for around 1000 pupils, where she spent 20 years as Assistant Business Manager. Her role included banking, accounting, purchasing, credit control, and regular lettings of premises including a theatre and large sports hall.

Matt Wheeler has lived in Heddington for over thirty years and his family has been in the village for generations before that. He has therefore used and known The Ivy for a very long time and actually worked in The Ivy for five years during its stronger performing days when it was a well-known attraction in the area. He is passionate about saving The Ivy as a facility for the village, and for a much wider community, both for his generation and the ones coming along behind—including his own children.

Richard Ring and his wife have lived in Heddington for 23 years. They were married here and their two children went to the village school; their son even visited The Ivy the day after he was born! Before retiring in late 2024, he spent 22 years as CFO of an international food business, looking after UK, US and Canada and working with a team of 2,500. For the last eight years he has also been Senior Independent Director (SID), Chair of Audit and Risk, and Chair of RemCom for a large group of care homes and domiciliary care workers, with a team of 3,000 operating across the South West. He and his wife loved the sense of community and friendship that The Ivy provided in its heyday and want to see it back to its very best.

Sarah Hudd is one of the three members of the Steering Committee with deep roots in the village. Born and raised here, like generations of her family before her, she has spent almost all her life in Heddington and has worked in three Wadworth pubs in the area. As a result, she has a very clear appreciation of the differences between them—and of the advantages that The Ivy has to offer. Currently retraining in accountancy, she plans to apply her growing financial understanding in support of her passion for the pub to making The Ivy great again.

Tennant has lived in Heddington since 2004. After graduating from University of Bath his early career was organising large music festivals, including the now legendary Tribal Gathering event. For the last 30+ years he has run a business-to-business trade and technical marketing agency with clients in Formula 1, Health and Safety, Construction and FMCG. He also provides private IT support to a number of international celebrities; and is in the process of setting up a new record label, Skruffy Records, with some colleagues from the music industry. He’s been a regular patron of The Ivy Inn for 20 years and is passionate about live music. Tennant has recently stepped back from steering committee duties but has contributed very significantly to the project and continues to do so as a consultant.