Lancashire Skills & Employment Hub - Connect to Work

Julia Hesketh has lived here for over nine years and is proud to be part of the local community. Originally from the North East, she quickly settled in and is now a familiar face around the town. Before becoming a councillor, Julia worked as a hotel manager. This gave her strong experience in working with people, listening, and helping others day to day. Julia is often out and about in Kirkham, especially around the shops, where she enjoys chatting with residents and hearing what matters to them. She believes in being approachable and easy to talk to. She did not plan to go into politics. She simply wanted to help people and get involved in the community. As a councillor, she is keen to support residents, listen to concerns, and play her part in keeping Kirkham a great place to live.

Adam Brierley lives in Kirkham and is proud to be part of the local community. As a town councillor, he focuses on listening to residents and getting things done. He has been involved in protecting important local services, including helping to save Milbanke Care Home and supporting efforts to keep the Day Centre open for those who rely on it. Adam takes a practical approach to improving the town. He has supported a range of everyday improvements, from new bins and streetlight repairs to better signage and keeping Kirkham looking its best. He works with local groups and organisations across the town and is always keen to get stuck in and help where he can. Adam is approachable, hardworking, and committed to supporting the people of Kirkham.

Born and raised Wesham, I attended Carr Hill school then spent over 30 years working at BAE Systems, mostly in HR. I have lived in both Kirkham and Wesham for most of my life and this love for my hometown is what made me want to join Kirkham Town Council.

Outside of the council, I love spending time with family and friends, and enjoy walking through Memorial Park and maybe popping into Footprints to look at a pair of boots, or Serendipity to get a little card or cute decoration.

I particularly like working with other councillors, our residents and neighbours because it’s clear how much everyone cares about our town.

I drink too many cups of tea, and unwind by watching a good crime drama.

I want to see Kirkham’s high street thrive so that more people stay and visit our local cafes, bars, and shops. I’ve seen some wonderful positive changes to Kirkham over the years, and I want to help our town build on this success in years to come, and this is what I will strive to do on the council.

Small steps, big changes

Hi, my name is Diane Ireland and I’ve been on the council just over six months. I’m on two committees on the council, the land and open spaces and the drainage committee

I was born in Bolton, and at the age of 18 I went to university in Liverpool where I attained first class honours degree in Geology and Environmental Science.

I moved to Kirkham when I got married in 1993 and later moved to Newton with Scales.

I worked as project manager for United Utilities for 37 years and retired from the role last year. I covered the Preston area as well as the Lake District, Carlisle area and North Yorkshire for many years investigating sewage treatment works and the problems. I volunteered at a couple of local food banks and now I’ve started my own food bank two years ago to provide fresh food for our vulnerable working working families. This involves working with local farmers to provide the dairy and the meat and also local wholesaler for fruit and vegetables as I feel these items are important to help children grow and nourish families well.

Seeing the issues people have struggling to feed their families, provide a roof over their heads and heat the houses has made me aware of the difficulties a lot of our residents face in silence. I’ve joined the council in the hope that I can raise these issues so people realise just what vulnerable families are facing and maybe help those in need.

I also feel I can bring my knowledge of the sewer network to the role of counsellor and help with the flooding issues.

Outside of running the Food Bank and council business, I enjoy walking my dog Gina, reading, swimming when possible and I’m a long suffering Bolton Wanderers season ticket holder. One of my favourite spots to walk, the dog is down Thames Street in Newton, up Parrox Lane towards Kirkham, along Remembrance Way and back via New Hey Lane. One of my favourite places to eat is Scotts Bistro and my favourite takeaway has got to be Jononi Balti.

I want to serve this community of Kirkham, because I feel the people of Kirkham deserve the best, whether it be representation or just a swimming facility. The community spirit within Kirkham is fantastic as I found out when asked to raise £200,000 for a young girl with cancer. The entire community came together to support the events I led and enough money was raised to send the child to America to receive groundbreaking treatment, and put her in remission and well again.

I’ve been involved with the development of a new play area near the close and this should come to fruition in April this year and the play area will be all inclusive and hopefully a happy place for the children to be.

‘ alone we can do so little, together we can do so much’ and I am a great believer in those words of Helen Keller, together we are stronger.

Diane Ireland B.Sc.(Hons), MIWEM, APMp

Hello everybody, my name is Neil Byers, and I’m a Kirkham Town Councillor and Chair of the Finance & Events committee.

I am a Kirkham Lad born and bred, having lived all my life in the town and with a family history that goes back generations. I attended Kirkham & Wesham County Primary and Carr Hill High Schools before entering the world of work and have worked for many years as a Learning & Development Co-ordinator for a local charity.

I want to make Kirkham the absolute best it can be, a flagship for other market towns across Lancashire and beyond. I want to bring some amazing events into Kirkham that we have never seen before!

I always love going to the Cenotaph, as my Grandad took me every year on Remembrance Sunday for as long as I could remember, and I always feel very close to him there.

I want to bring some new and exciting events to Kirkham for the community to share in, such as an inclusive Kirkham Pride event, our town’s very own Comedy Fringe, and a spectacular Last Night of the Proms so that we can celebrate the best of British!

I love all things Art Deco, be it our fabulous Library in Kirkham, or anything from the 1920’s, and am a HUGE Eurovision Fan, (although we never do very well, I’m ever the optimist!)

I have served you on Kirkham Town Council since being elected in 1983.

I retired from a long career with British Telecom in 2011 and have since dedicated my time to music, gardening and building my home computers and generally enjoying not having to go to work!

I joined the council to try to make a difference to the people of Kirkham after the town had changed considerably and wanted to make the town go from declining to thriving by ensuring all stakeholders were working together and providing the services and retail space that would make Kirkham the centre of the Rural Fylde once again

I also wanted to stand to ensure everyone voice in Kirkham was heard and to give back to the community by serving it as a volunteer to the best of my ability

My wife and I have had a business in Kirkham since 2016. I have been a Kirkham Town Councillor since 2018 and Mayor for 2023/24 and 2024/25. I am passionate about Kirkham and my objective is to do my very best to make Kirkham the best it can be.

I have worked in Financial Services all my working life and now run my own Consultancy business, as well as being a non-executive director for an education trust and sit on a panel for the Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner.

It is the skills I have gained throughout my career that I want to bring to the Council to ensure we have Financial Discipline, strategic plans for the Town and to look after the residents and business of Kirkham.

I want to work collaboratively with Fylde Borough Council and Lancashire County Council to represent Kirkham and ensure we get the support and investment we need.

As Mayor, I have been able to set up a new Flooding sub-committee, as a reaction to the terrible flooding of the 12thJune 2023. We are now tackling long standing issues that should have been dealt with years ago to protect our residents and business, who shouldn’t have to suffer the devastating consequences this avoidable flooding can cause. In the committee we bring together Kirkham Town Council, Fylde Borough Council, Lancashire County Council and United Utilities. There are many issues to deal with, some of which will be large infrastructure projects, but this committee is permanent and will keep the focus on the issues we have throughout Kirkham.

I am proud to represent Kirkham and am available to help you when required. Please feel free to call me or email me on my Council phone or email address.

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