The Mayor
This section is about the Mayor, Councillor Brian Stead.
At the Annual Council Meeting on 19 May 2011, Councillor Brian Stead was el
ected as the Mayor of the Borough of Reigate & Banstead for the 2011-12 Municipal Year.
Biography and background
Councillor Brian Stead, has been a Borough Councillor for 16 years, having first been elected for the Nork Ward in 1995. He has been a member of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee since its inception in July 2001, serving as its Chairman for the last two years. He has also been Chairman of the Finance Committee, and member of the Policy and Resources Committee.
Councillor Stead has served for 17 years as a Governor of Warren Mead Junior School and has been a member of the Committee of the Nork Residents’ Association for 18 years. He is Treasurer of the Banstead West Music in the Park Committee, was a member of the Steering Group of the Downland Countryside Management Project and is still a member of the Nork Park Conservation Volunteers. He alsochairs the Banstead Police Neighbourhood Panel.
Councillor Stead was born in South London and educated at Wilsons Grammar School, then Imperial College. Graduating with a BSc(Eng) in Aeronautical Engineering he completed a graduate apprenticeship at Hawker Aircraft in Kingston. However, the flying bug had caught him and he chose to join the Royal Air Force as a pilot on a permanent commission. During his 16 years of service, he served all over the world and also met his wife, together having three children. At the completion of his commission he was the Wing Commander in charge of the first Phantom Reconnaissance Squadron in Germany.
RAF life had meant a total of 13 moves for the family, so it was welcomed when he joined the Ministry of Defence where he remained for 20 years until retirement. During that time he led sections on intelligence gathering, counter espionage and counter terrorism. He admits there was never a day in his working life when he did not want to go to work.
Recently widowed he will be accompanied mostly during his year by one of his two married daughters Beverly Heywood-Jones and Kathryn Dray, sister Ann Richards or sister-in-law Sylvia Reader . He also has a son Christopher and seven grandchildren. The Mayor will use his year in office to assist the Council, wherever possible, to communicate with the public. He is mindful that with the Government’s Localism Bill it will be difficult for the public to exercise their new powers without a clear understanding and knowledge of the Council’s plans, policies and services.
When he has time, the Mayor is a keen member of Epsom Golf Club. He enjoys gardening and his main hobby is genealogy.
Nominated charities
The Mayor's nominated charities are:For more information about these worthy causes please click on the above links.
Deputy Mayor
See the Deputy Mayor page for more about Councillor John Stephenson.
Last updated : 17/10/2011
