A panel of six judges has been appointed for next year’s Sustainable Sidmouth Champions awards, organised by the Vision Group for Sidmouth. 

The nominations will be judged by Denise Bickley, Sylvia Brownlee, Eleanor Carr, Brian Golding, Chris Lockyear and Chris Woodruff. The last two were also on last year's panel.

VGS chairman Ian Gregory said the judges had been chosen to ‘reflect the broad sweep of the 2023 awards'. He said: “The Vision Group for Sidmouth is delighted that representatives of our local community, business life and key institutions have taken on the challenge of judging the Sustainable Sidmouth Champions Awards 2023.”  

Denise is a town and district councillor who works as an administrative assistant at the Sidmouth Primary School, and is founder and chair of the Sidmouth Plastic Warriors. Last year she won the Champions Award for sustainability. 

Sylvia is the former, long-standing secretary of the Sidmouth Chamber of Commerce, the author of ‘Sampson’s Sidmouth’ and founder of the Sampson Society.  After many years as a Brown Owl and Ranger leader, she is proposed for as Chairman of the Sidmouth Trefoil Guild (Guiding for Adults) from January 2023. 

Eleanor is the businesswoman behind East Devon’s Unique Boutique street food markets, and is particularly interested in social impact. 

Professor Brian Golding OBE works at the Met Office, leading an international project to improve weather warnings. He is also chair of the SVA’s History Group, and authored the original VGS Report in 2005. 

Chris Lockyear is chair of Sidmouth Town Council and also chairs the programme committee of the Sidmouth Science Festival. He has a background in the energy industry and is a governor of Sidmouth College. 

Chris Woodruff has been manager of the East Devon AONB since 2002, and has considerable experience in countryside management and rural development. He is currently chair of The Pebblebed Heath NNR Board and Trustee for Deepway Meadow Millennium Green in Sidbury. 

Next year’s awards focus on initiatives that save money while helping the environment. The judges are interested in projects or activities that save energy, prevent food waste, ‘make do and mend’, and generally improve the sustainability and resilience of the local community. 

To find out more, enter the awards or nominate someone else, visit the VGS website.