IWAC : Inland Waterways Advisory Council

Our Members

Visit to Tapton Lock Visitor Centre, Chesterfield Canal

Visit to Tapton Lock Visitor Centre, Chesterfield Canal

John Edmonds - Chair
John Edmonds is a non-executive Director of the Carbon Trust and of Salix Finance; visiting Research Fellow of King's College, London; an Honorary Fellow of the Society for the Environment; and Vice President of the National Society for Clean Air.

Previously he has been General Secretary of GMB Trade Union; President of TUC; Co-Chair of the Trade Union Advisory Committee on Sustainable Development; Member of Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution; Forestry Commissioner; and Board member of the Environment Agency.
Cathy Cooke
Manager of Derbyshire Adult Community Education Services's Eco Centre for Sustainable Development Education within Derbyshire County Counil's Children and Younger Adults Department. Formerly Area Manager for Derbyshire Countryside Service, Derbyshire County Council: Chair of the Technical Officers Group and an active Member of the Chesterfield Canal Partnership. Former Navigation Manager of the Chesterfield Canal.

Mike Cooksley
Chair of Weaver Valley Management Board and Visit Chester and Cheshire, a board member of Natural Economy North West and a former vice-chair of Anderton Boat Lift Trust.
John Dodwell
Chair of Commercial Boat Operators Association, a director of Freight by Water and Managing Director of Rolandon Water and Sea Freight Advisory Services. Member of British Waterways Advisory Forum and many waterway restoration societies. Chartered Accountant. Previously General Secretary of Inland Waterways Association.
Neil Edwards
Chief Executive of The Inland Waterways Association. Director and company secretary of Essex Waterways Ltd (which manages the Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation) and director of Inland Waterways Enterprises Ltd (IWA’s main trading subsidiary company). Formerly a director of Waterway Recovery Group since 1986. Boated on the majority of navigable waterways in the UK and Ireland, and worked on many waterway restoration projects. Formerly an elected member of the Council and trustee of The National Trust for 15 years. Active leader of voluntary work parties for The National Trust (having worked on over 100 properties since 1977) and The National Trust for Scotland.
Martyn Heighton
Currently Director of National Historic Ships; formerly Chief Executive of the Mary Rose Trust, and involved in the regeneration of Bristol Floating Harbour and the Albert Dock Liverpool.
Duncan McGhie
Has worked for Coopers and Lybrand/PricewaterhouseCoopers as Partner in Charge of Scottish Management Consultancy Practice; WM Collins PLC as Group Finance Director; British Steel Corporation as Scottish Division Board Member Finance. Other appointments held include Chairman of Scottish Opera; Chairman of Scottish Ballet; Member of the Scottish Executive's Leadership Advisory Panel tasked with reviewing Scottish Local Government's Self Review of its political Management Structures; Vice Convener, The Israeli Centres Committee of the Church of Scotland's Board of World Mission; Acting Chief Executive, North British Steel Foundry; Director, Pan Books; and Chief Executive, Nationwide Book Service.

Amanda Nobbs
Chair of the Environment Agency Thames Regional Flood Defence Committee, a member of the Environment Agency Thames Regional Environmental Protection Advisory Committee and Environment Agency Thames Regional Fisheries, Ecology and Recreation Committee. Former chief executive of the Council for National Parks.
Tamsin Phipps
Public Affairs Manager for the British Canoe Union, an official for the International Canoe Federation and a volunteer for a local community narrow boat (the Falcon Adam).
Colin Powell
Principal Country Parks and Grant Officer for Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council, a member of Afan Forest Park Tourism Growth Area Project Board and has a 25-year involvement with canals in Wales, in particular with restoration works on the Neath Canal and Tennant Canal.
Ronnie Rusack MBE
Active campaigner for the regeneration of the Scottish Lowland Canals prior to the Millennium Link Project and active partner in that project to restore those canals. Started the Edinburgh Canal Centre in 1971 and prior to his early retirement was the sole owner/operator for 35 years of the Bridge Inn in Ratho which employed 70 staff and included two restaurants, four bars, two MCA Class V restaurant boats and a vintage trip boat. Founder member and current Chair of Seagull Trust Cruises; member of British Waterways Scotland Group, Freshwater & Saltwater Group and the Scottish Pleasure Boat Operators.
Derek Scott
Currently Advisory Board Member of Vestra Wealth, Non-Executive Director of Liberty Syndicates and Managing Consultant at Europe Economics and visiting professor at Cass Business School. He was Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, from May 1997 to December 2003, which was followed by two years as Economic Adviser to the International Chairman of KPMG. Between 1984 and 1997 he was Director of European Economics at Barclays de Zoete Wedd (BZW) and has experience in the oil industry as chief economist at Shell UK and International Policy Adviser at Shell International.

Alan Stopher
Trained as a civil engineer. Worked in the coal industry for 20 years before becoming the Project Director of Huddersfield Canal Company. More recently employed by Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council and now retired from the post of Assistant Executive Director (Property Services). Has advised on the Cotswold Canals restoration project by leading the Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council independent review team commissioned by Stroud District Council.
Bob Watson MBE
Director of the charity ‘Sobriety’ Project Ltd; Former Chair of National Community Boats Association; Board Member of Goole Development Trust; Judging Panel Memer Waterways Renaissance Awards; Committee Member Yorkshire Grantmakers' Forum

Michael Whitbread
Economist and Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (Retired). Has worked in Government Departments, at The World Bank in Washington DC, policy research and as a consultant with Ove Arup and Partners and GHK International. Recently returned to the UK after living and working for some years in South and East Asia. Main interests are environmental economics and policy.
Alison Woodhams
Director of Finance at University College London. Previously Chief Operating Officer at BBC World Service following other roles at the BBC including Group Financial Controller; Head of Internal Audit and Head of Finance, English Regions. Before that worked for AT&T and Cadbury Typhoo. Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. School Governor and former PCC Treasurer. Regular user of inland waterways for holidays afloat and walking and member of narrow boat shared-ownership group.

Council Staff

John Manning
IWAC's Policy Adviser since 2007, provides professional input and advice to enable IWAC to maximise the quality and quantity of its output. He has previously worked for the Environment Agency and its predecessor local authority organisations as a waste regulation officer and a water quality officer. Was a policy adviser for Defra in the area of diffuse water pollution, implementing the Nitrates Directive in England, and for the Department for Communities & Local Government introducing secondary legislation to help fire and rescue services prepare for disruptive terrorist incidents.
Diana Wray
Office Manager, Website Administrator

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