The Team
There are twelve members of the Saline Kirk Development Group. Most of these people nominated themselves through the open invitation in the survey that was sent out to all households. We are still looking for people with experience of property law, architecture and accounting. If this is you, and you are interested in getting involved, please contact us.
Gareth Turner - Chairperson
Gareth Turner is a retired engineer with extensive experience in Project and Quality Management at senior levels. He has lived in Saline for over thirty years and has been actively involved with the Saline and Steelend Community Development Trust and Saline Horticultural Society.
Jacqueline Stones - Secretary
Jacqueline is a born and bred “Saliner”. Now retired from a successful career in in HR and Health & Safety, Jacqueline set up Saline Kirk Development Trust to secure the church buildings for the community she grew up in. Jacqueline is also Chairperson of Saline and Steelend Gardening Group (having resurrected the annual village Horticultural Show) and a Trustee of Saline and Steelend Community Development Trust. She is also currently Non-Exec Director of a national Garden Centre company. Along with her position as Secretary, Jacqueline’s main project roles include liaison with the General Trustees at the Church of Scotland, Development Trusts Association Scotland (DTAS), the Community Ownership Support Service (COSS) and Fife Voluntary Action.
Colin Bagnall – Community consultation and engagement
Colin is a Deputy Headteacher with extensive experience in Projects and Community Development. He has lived in Saline for over 30 years, seeing his children through primary and secondary school and university. He is also an active church member along with his wife, who is a Church Elder, and has been known to use his guitar on occasion to help out with the music!
Graeme Hawley - Website content and community consultation and engagement.
Graeme is new to the village, having moved here in November 2025. He grew up in a village in the Pennines, so village life and a rural setting feel familiar to him. He loves the way Saline is at the hub of where six country roads meet. “It feels like you can go in different directions, and I love that sense of opportunity to explore”. He is the Head of Published Collections at the National Library of Scotland, where he has worked for 24 years. As well as a deep understanding of the value of culture and heritage in the broadest sense, he has also been leading on initiatives to connect the Library’s collections to 12 towns throughout Scotland, working particularly with community organisations.
Helen Rockell – Community engagement
Helen moved to Saline four years ago and loves it here. She volunteers for the Saline and Steelend Pantry, which she rightly says is “fabulous!”. She is happy to have met so many amazing people in the villages and to be part of our local community. Helen works for Fife Council, supporting adults with core skills in literacy, numeracy, IT, and employability. She also facilitates the feeding session part of antenatal courses for the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) and voluntarily provides feeding support for mothers and babies. In addition, Helen offers a breastfeeding peer support Open College Network qualification and provides ongoing training for qualified peers. She is also an assessor for Qualification Scotland (formally SQA).
Joanna Lawrence - Website content and community consultation and engagement
Joanna (Jo) has been living in Saline for 16 years. Christened in Saline and Blairingone Church, Jo grew up in Limekilns and then moved away before returning to Saline in her 30s with her own family. Since then, Joanna has been involved with the church, helping with Sunday School, and the church website, Facebook page, and newsletter. Jo is now involved in the villages’ Environment Group and The Drying Green Community Garden project. Over the years, Joanna has had various roles in the education, community development, and third sector. Her core skillset lies in communication.
John Lewthwaite – Advisory role and school engagement
Head of Built Development at Crown Estate Scotland and Non-Executive Member of the Scotland Regional Advisory Board, John has plentiful experience of similar projects in both the public and private sector. He also has links with Saline Primary School - his three daughters attend the school and engage with village community groups such as Rainbows, Brownies, and Highland Dancing.
Peter Hartley – Feasibility Study, Business Plan and Financial Plan
Peter Hartley is a semi-retired academic, Visiting Professor at Edge Hill University, and National Teaching Fellow, who continues to work on research and consultancy projects for UK universities. His current interests and expertise lie in communication and the educational applications of Generative AI. During Peter’s full-time career in education, he also developed expertise in project planning and development, funding applications, and team management.
Richard Smith - Relationship with other Advisory Organisations
Richard is now retired from a senior position in natural heritage and biodiversity in Fife Council, having co-authored the Fife Biodiversity Action Plan 2013-2018. He has a wide range of community and environmental experience and is currently a member of Saline and Steleend Environment Group.
Stuart Mitchell – Feasibility Study, Business Plan and Financial Plan
Originally from the west coast and having spent some time down south, Stuart is fairly new to Saline. He has a keen interest in heritage and history and has previous valuable work experience in Business Planning and Strategy.
Tina Chapman - local visits to learn / share knowledge
Tina is a retired Occupation Therapist. She is currently Chairperson of Saline and Steelend Community Council and Vice Chairman of Saline Heritage Society. Tina is involved in health and social care issues from public perspective. She sits on the executive for the Friends of Queen Margaret Hospital and volunteers at Smalls for All. As a Soroptimist, she is committed to improve the lives of women and girls across the world and helping them achieve their goals. Other interests include local and family history.
