New parish council chairman working with a ‘great team’

JPCT 070113 Phil Bowell - made an MBE for services to British Industry and the Bahrain Community. Photo by Derek Martin

Mr Bowell received the Queen’s New Year Honour for his contributions to the British industry and working round the clock to keep Bahrain International Airport open during the 2011 uprising.

Retiring 18 months ago, Mr Bowell wanted to help the town he has called home for more than 20 years.

Mr Bowell said: “I came back from living overseas for a while and was worried about retiring and going from this great responsibility to nothing.”

Joining the British Legion and the Steyning Cricket Club, Mr Bowell eventually became a parish councillor.

“I’d been with the parish for about a year and then in the recent election I was elected as chairman.”

Taking over from former chairman David Barling who was this month elected to the county council, Mr Bowell is thrilled to be overseeing a ‘great team’.

He said: “The parish council members are unpaid , private citizens doing the best they can to provide for their community and they do a brilliant job. We have got a great team here. ”

Among his duties, Mr Bowell is passionate about providing facilities for Steyning’s youth, like the proposed skate park. He said: “The youth of Steyning are a part of the community as well.”