There are 18 members of the Steering Group. As the Hyde Park and Paddington Neighbourhood Area has been designated a ‘Business Area’ by Westminster City Council, nine people are drawn from the local resident population, and nine from the local organisations and businesses. The following were elected at the AGM of the Forum on 18 May 2023 and serve a two year term.
Andy has had a connection with the Hyde Park Estate since 2015 and moved to the area permanently in 2017. He has been a committee member of the Hyde Park Estate Association for most of that time, initially as the short-let rep, and more recently as the Honorary Secretary. He is involved in a number of software businesses, including his own which he founded on leaving the Royal Navy in 2014.
Susie has lived in Westminster since 1993, first in Maida Vale and then Paddington. She was encouraged by the former Leader of Westminster Council, Sir Simon Milton, to apply for a vacant seat in Lancaster Gate ward and represented residents there for 20 years until 2022 when Susie stood down as a councillor. Prior to becoming a councillor Susie worked in Parliament for an MP for several years which prepared her exceedingly well for her many roles as a Westminster councillor, including presiding over major planning applications such as the transformation of Paddington Station area and St Mary’s Hospital.
Sarah Clifford has lived in the Hyde Park Estate since 2006 and has been involved in local groups including the HPEA. She is a qualified chartered accountant who was a partner with EY for many years. Subsequently she was a founder and Chair of Governors of Marylebone Boys’ School in Paddington. She has also volunteered in various roles at St Mary’s Hospital.
Antonia Cox and her family have lived on the Hyde Park Estate for over 25 years. From 2012 to 2022 she represented Hyde Park on Westminster City Council, where her responsibilities included public protection, licensing policy and chairing the pension fund. She was a founder and vice-chairman of governors at Marylebone Boys’ School in Paddington. She has served as a non-executive director of the Student Loans Company and is a trustee of the UK’s independent fact-checking charity, Full Fact.org. Previously she worked in investment banking and as a correspondent and leader writer for the Daily Telegraph and Evening Standard.
Richard Cutt has lived in Westminster for over 20 years; currently in Paddington Basin since 2022. Trained as chartered surveyor, Richard has over 25 years’ experience in the residential property sector. He currently sits on the Planning & Licensing committee of the Hyde Park Estate Association. Richard has previously chaired the Residents’ Society of Mayfair & St James’s and the Westminster Amenity Societies Forum. Further to this, he has also sat on the steering committees of the Mayfair Neighbourhood Forum and the St James’s Neighbourhood Forum.
Bernadette (Bernie) McKernan has lived in the Hyde Park Estate since 2007. She is a qualified chartered accountant who worked in Deloitte Corporate Finance for many years. More recently she has held strategic change roles in the corporate sector. Bernie is also a co-opted member of the finance committee at the Trust for London, an independent charitable foundation which aims to tackle poverty and inequality in London.
Sally Martin has lived with her family in the Hyde Park Estate since 1999, when she was posted to London as Chief Executive of Qantas for the UK, Ireland, Middle East & Africa. She chose to remain in the UK at the end of her expatriate tenure and has since become a Non Executive Chairman, Director & Remuneration Chair of FTSE listed and start-up companies. She also advises private equity and investment banks in the UK, Europe & Middle East. Sally is a member of the Executive Committee of the Hyde Park Estate Association with responsibility for the Business Liaison & Transport portfolios and membership of the Planning & Royal Parks sub-committees. She is Chair of the NZUK Link Foundation, a Trustee of the Britain-Australia Society Education Trust UK, a Freeman of the City of London and a member of the Guild of Freeman of the City of London and La Jurade de Saint Emilion.
Samantha Welsh has lived with her family on the Hyde Park Estate since 2000. Samantha has over 25 years’ experience advising international luxury consumer brands and real estate investors as a chartered surveyor and consultant. She has advised several of the London estates and owners of heritage assets on masterplanning, delivering strategies for principals at Grosvenor, Cadogan, Howard De Walden, the Royal Exchange and Burlington Arcade. Samantha is Leaders and Philanthropists Editor of LUX Global Media, consults significant individuals through Quartet Consulting, sits on the boards of various luxury brands, and is advisor to Ben Goldsmith’s international conservation charity The Conservation Collective. She is the Hon. Secretary of the Hyde Park Estate Association and Chair of the Sussex Square Residents’ Association.
Dr Allen Zimbler (BA Hons, MBA, PhD (Psychology)) has lived in Hyde Park Square since 2000 and is Chairman of the Hyde Park Estate Association. A former Full Professor of Business Administration at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, he retired in 2016 as an Executive Director of Investec Bank Plc in London. He is Chairman of the Hyde Park Square Garden Committee and of the Hyde Park Paddington Safer Neighbourhood Ward Panel. He is also Chairman of Governors of Morpeth High School in Tower Hamlets, is the Senior Warden of the Worshipful Company of Carpenters, is a member of the Honourable Society of the Knights of the Round Table, a Director of the Archbishop Tutu African Leadership Institute, and Chairman of the Ju/‘hoansi Development Fund, responsible for building five entry-level village schools for young Khoisan children in Northern Namibia.
Kay Buxton is a chartered planner and a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute. She began working in Paddington in 1998, after a tenure at Westminster City Council and various planning and community planning roles in London. With a background of 20+ years in urban policy and stakeholder engagement Kay was involved in the setting up one of the first BIDs in London, PaddingtonNow, and London’s 50th BID, Marble Arch London. Kay heads up these BIDs, and the Paddington Partnership, a developer-led collective in the Paddington Opportunity Area. Kay also sits on the Marylebone Forum Steering Group, for Marble Arch London BID, ensuring that the approach to our boundary with Edgware Road is co-ordinated.
Paul Charalambous owns and operates Stylotel, a 50 bedroom budget boutique hotel and The Sussex Arms, a traditional pub; both located in the heart of Paddington. Paul has grown up for most of his life in the Paddington area and currently lives here. Taking on the family business at an early age, Paul has constantly strived to improve not only his businesses but the area surrounding them. Paul was involved from the beginning in the setting up of the Paddington Now BID and has sat on the Board from the outset, also enjoying the roles of both Chairman and Vice Chairman of the BID, and leading the marketing sub group. Paul’s particular interest in the area is that of achieving improvements to infrastructure and a better marketed Paddington.
Victoria Dell joined PaddingtonNow BID in 2019 as Operations Manager and was promoted to Chief Executive Officer in 2023 to lead the BID in its fifth term. During this time she has obtained a deep knowledge of the area and established strong relationships with local businesses and stakeholders.
Victoria came to the BID after many years in education as an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) specialist, developing excellent communication skills and the ability to manage sometimes challenging situations.
Steve Lewis MSyI has worked in the West End since 1990 across a number of roles involving with local authorities and BIDs. Steve is now the Business Security and Resilience Manager for Marble Arch London BID and plays an active role on a number of working groups, including the Edgware Road Operations and Enforcement Group. Steve has extensive knowledge in specialist security fields and works closely with the Metropolitan Police.
Ian Lush has been Chief Executive of Imperial College Healthcare Charity since December 2014, having previously been Chief Executive of the Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) for 11 years. Following an MA in music at the University of York, he started his career as a viola-player with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, before eight years as Marketing Director of the Barbican Centre. Ian was then Managing Director of the London Mozart Players from 1995 before joining the AHF. Ian was Lead Governor of Great Ormond Street Hospital Foundation Trust from 2012-15 having previously served on its strategy and redevelopment boards. He founded and directed ‘Discovering Places’, one of the major projects of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad and was Deputy Chair of the Heritage Alliance from 2005-13.
Ian became Chair of NHS Charities Together in April 2020 and was awarded an OBE for charitable services to the NHS in the New Year’s Honours List 2021.
Stephen has been Vicar of St John’s Hyde Park since 2002. Trained in the liberal catholic tradition, he was a curate in the northern town of Grimsby and a Vicar in Tunbridge Wells beforehand. Stephen believes that the church should reflect God’s love and be relevant to modern life. His vision is for St John’s to be the welcoming centre of a thriving community in twenty-first century London.
Charlotte Moss (MRICS, MSc, BA Hons) is a Chartered Surveyor and Senior Commercial Asset Manager for the Church Commissioners for England. The Church Commissioners were formed in 1948 from the merger of Queen Anne’s Bounty (which was formed in 1704) and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners (1836), and they exist to support the work and mission of the Church of England across the country, today and for future generations. The Hyde Park Estate is one of the jewels in the crown of the Church Commissioners’ Real Asset portfolio. The Estate covers 90 acres bordered by Sussex Gardens, Edgware Road and Bayswater Road comprising a mix of commercial and residential assets. The Church Commissioners are committed to the long-term stewardship of the Hyde Park Estate, maintaining and enhancing its rich and varied heritage, investing in the built fabric and the public realm to ensure that the Estate remains a great place to live, work and visit. Charlotte joined the Church Commissioners in 2021 and prior to this was Asset Manager at The Crown Estate.
Isabel Turner (MRICS, Bsc Hons Land Management) is a Chartered Surveyor at British Land responsible for delivering asset management initiatives at Paddington Central which comprises an 11 acre campus with 1.2m sq ft of office, retail, residential and hotel space and 10,000 workers/residents. British Land are committed to driving forward Paddington Central with recent investments including the delivery of 4 Kingdom Street and significant public realm improvements. Initiatives currently being implemented by Isabel include increasing and upgrading the retail provision on the campus and working with the Canal and River Trust to deliver commercial moorings. Isabel joined British Land in 2015 and prior to this was in the commercial valuation team at Gerald Eve for 5 years.
To contact any members of the Steering Group, please email HPP@paddingtonnow.co.uk