Dr. Stephen Yeates  (PHD) 

A Gloucestershire lad with a maternal line from the Hundred of Saint Briavels. He headed off to university as a mature student to study archaeology, ending up with three degrees from Sheffield and Oxford. Following graduation he worked in the heritage industry, and published a number of books and articles on the religion of the local Iron Age tribe, the Dobunni, and of the early medieval kingdom of Hwicce.

Stephen was co-opted onto the West Dean Parish Council for the Berry Hill Ward near the start of lockdown, and has been advising West Dean Council on aspects of heritage in legislation and the national planning policy.

Realising that the proposal to demolish the Hut (Berry Hill Memorial Institute – BHMI), Berry Hill’s War Memorial, was unpopular, he was employed to write a heritage report for the building (identifying it as a nationally significant building). He is involved with the BHMI Committee trying to get the building properly registered and restored, as well as helping to get it more accessible and more energy efficient.

Stephen is also the Vice-Chair of the West Dean Parish Council Highways and Footpaths Committee, where he has helped bring together a policy document on road safety, in an attempt to cut down speeding in the parish.

He held Green beliefs even before he went to University, which have strengthened as our knowledge of environmental impacts has increased.