Peter Cleasby has been elected as the new Chair of the Plunkett Foundation. Peter succeeds Susan Knox OBE in the role.
Peter Cleasby joined the Plunkett Board in April 2008, becoming Vice-Chair in February 2009. Until 2006 he was a deputy director of rural policy at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), championing social enterprise approaches across the Department’s business. Peter is a director of a small consultancy business.
Speaking after his election, Peter Cleasby said: “It is difficult to imagine a more exciting time than now to become Chair of the Plunkett Foundation. Our belief in rural communities using co-operation and enterprise-based approaches to take control of their own affairs places us firmly in the mainstream of the new public policy.
“The government has committed to return power to communities, but many will need advice and support from Plunkett and others on how to develop effective and viable co-operative and community-run institutions locally. I greatly look forward to supporting the talented team at Plunkett as we rise to meet this challenge.”
The Plunkett Foundation is a national organisation which supports rural communities through community-ownership to take control of the issues affecting them.
For press and media enquires please contact Elizabeth on elizabethofmar@yahoo.co.uk or 07870 276375
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NOTES TO EDITORS:
The Plunkett Foundation (www.plunkett.co.uk) is a national organisation based in Woodstock, Oxfordshire that helps rural communities through community-ownership, co-operatives and social enterprise enterprise to take control of the issues important to them. The Plunkett Foundation runs a range of projects and services supporting rural communities to set up and successfully run such enterprises including community-owned shops, community-owned rural services and Community Food and Farming Enterprises. The Plunkett Foundation is strategic partners with the Office of Civil Society within the Cabinet Office (www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk) and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (http://ww2.defra.gov.uk/).