Paul Brown
Royston First BID Manager
Paul Brown is the owner of a fashion company he started in 2009. His experience with business improvement districts dates back to 2018, when he joined the board of directors at Our Bury St Edmunds BID.
In 2019, he became the manager of Love Newmarket BID and led the organisation through a successful renewal.
Paul is looking forward to working closely with the board and members to build a better town to live, work and visit.
David Smyth
Chairman
David was a long-standing member of the Royston Chamber of Commerce when the idea of a BID was first mooted. David has been involved in the BID since the start in 2009, before being elected to the Board in November 2012 and appointed chairman in September 2019.
David is a Roystonian and worked in Royston as a Chartered Accountant in private practice for nearly 50 years. This enables him to bring financial knowledge to the Board on a variety of matters.
David is passionate about Royston and works towards helping the town centre and industrial areas to succeed and supports the many projects carried out to make this happen.
Cath Boughton
Director
Cath joined Royston First’s predecessor, Royston Town Centre Forum in 2007 and became a member of the Royston First Advisory Council in 2009 before being elected to the Board of Directors in 2020.
She brings with her an immense knowledge of the town and businesses, gained from her experience of setting up and running The Listing magazine, which started life back in 2005. Her motivation on the Board of Directors is to add value and make a difference to both the wider community and the business environment, and as such is keen to champion projects which add to the vibrancy of our town and the growth of our local economy.
Nigel Reader
Director
Nigel is the owner of Borders and Bows on Green Drift.
He has been involved with Royston First since its inception in 2009, initially as a member of the Advisory Council and from 2019 as a Director.
Nigel has lived in Royston since 1981 and is passionate about all things to do with Royston, particularly interested in business and local grass-roots sport; being a long-time sponsor and season ticket holder with Royston Town FC and a long-standing member of Royston Cricket Club committee.
Steve Jackson
Director
Steve has been a member of the Royston Advisory Council since its creation in 2009 and was elected to the Board of Directors in 2020. He moved to Royston in 1987 and shortly after opened a branch of his electrical business in the Town Centre but soon outgrew the premises and relocated to Orchard Road Industrial Estate in 1999.
He is also chairman of Royston Town Football Club, a position he has held since 2008. During his tenure, he has strived to make the club an integral part of the town and is very proud of the progress made by the club’s community programme, which continues to work with most of the schools in the area.
Dave Lowe
Director
Dave started to work in Royston in 2004 but he remembers coming to the Royston Cinema back in the 80’s. Working in the centre of the town, he has come to be known by many locals, and seeing the problems the town has had over the years has made him want to get involved and help make the changes needed to make the town thrive.
Royston is a wonderful town full of diverse and individual businesses, all run by passionate and driven people. To be able to help make the town a better place is something Dave is very excited about and loves giving his time to.
Peter Heppelthwaite
Royston First are devastated to announce that one of our Directors, Peter Heppelthwaite, passed away at the weekend.
Peter first joined Royston First as a member of our Advisory Council, bringing enthusiasm, pragmatism and a fresh perspective to Royston. When the opportunity arose to join the Board, Pete jumped at the chance and became a highly valued Director, serving for the past four years.
As many of you will know, Peter chose to establish his business in Royston, founding Limitless Academy of Performing Arts on Melbourn Street.
We hope many of you had the opportunity to see his stage productions, which were, quite simply, incredible. West End-quality performances, produced right here in Royston. The opportunities he gave so many young people to shine and be the very best they could be on stage were a joy to witness. He instilled self-belief in all those around him.
From a Royston First perspective, Peter brought immense value to the Board and earned the respect of his fellow Directors. His views and contributions were always thoughtful and insightful, whether shared by email or during meetings. He had that rare ability to see issues from every angle, yet cut through the noise to reach a fair and balanced decision.
He had a “say it how it is” approach, combined with ideas that were plentiful, fresh, innovative and often outside the box. His vision was truly limitless – a man who lived every moment of life to the full and drew everyone around him into the journey.
We will miss him greatly.
Royston First