About

Marcus is a retired Chartered Surveyor and farmer, with an Oxford degree in Agricultural Science. With 45 years’ experience as an elected member of Aberdeenshire Council and its predecessors, he is keen to preserve as much as possible of the North East’s rich and varied built heritage.

John is a member of ARB and Associate Member of RIAS, and with over 30 years in the industry, he is now also Director at MGA Architecture.

He was formerly President of the Aberdeen Society of Architects, lecturer in Professional Practice at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, part time Design Tutor at Robert Gordon University, and Part III Professional Examiner to APEAS.

John has been a member of the Design Review Panel for Aberdeen City and Shire, and has been involved in building preservation as a Director of Glen O Dee Preservation Trust and Director of NESPT, as well as undertaking property development in the residential and commercial sector.

Neil Robb, a Partner and Head of Commercial Real Estate at Blackadders law firm has been a practising solicitor since 1992, acting for a wide range of clients in Aberdeen and throughout Scotland, with a focus on property – mainly commercial law. He joined the NESPT as a Board member in 2020.

Richard joined the Board in 2011.  He is a retired Councillor (Aberdeenshire Council) and was responsible for Adult Education in Upper and Lower Deeside for 17 years. He held the position of Chair of Aberdeenshire Council’s Education, Learning and Leisure Committee and was a Board Member of the Cairngorms National Park Authority. He was also a member of the Council’s Marr Area Committee taking decisions on planning applications within the Marr area. Richard is also a Director of the Strathdon Community Development Trust.

James is Chief of the Name of Burnett, actively promoting the region and bringing Burnetts worldwide to Crathes and North East Scotland. James is also a landowner, farmer, and local businessman. Formerly a County Councillor and member of the National Trust for Scotland Executive Committee.

Jack has worked as an architect in Los Angeles and Berlin. He taught at the Southern California Institute of Architecture and Woodbury University. Since 1993, he has been a partner of BARarchitekten in Berlin.  Since moving to Aberdeen in 2013, he has been trustee at Bon Accord Heritage, working to reopen the Bon Accord Baths. He is on the cases panel of the AHSS NE Group, with a particular interest on the preservation of post-war architecture. Jack joined the Trust as a Director in 2022.

Councillor George Carr was elected for the Aberdeenshire Mearns Ward in 2007 and sits on the Infrastructure Committee. He is an agronomist with Scottish Rural University College at Craibstone, with a specialism in grass and grass variety testing. Hailing from a farming background, he has served on the previous board of Benholm Mill and for many years on the Dunnottar Woodland Trust at Stonehaven, where many of the unique historical features were restored and brought back to their former glory. He also swung a fireball in Stonehaven’s unique ceremony but retired recently to allow new recruits to come forward and maintain the tradition.

Glasgow born, Jim studied Civil Engineering at Glasgow College of Technology and worked as a land surveyor before moving offshore in support of the emerging oil & gas industry. He worked at a Hydrographic Surveyor, Senior Surveyor and Offshore Manager before moving to Aberdeen as a Project Engineer and Project Manager running the contracts that he used to work on offshore.

Jim started a sign manufacturing business in 1996 and ran that until he sold the operation 18 years later.

Jim has been an elected councillor on Aberdeenshire Council since 2007 and has served as Chair and Vice-chair of various committees and served two terms as Leader of the Council.

Outwith the council, Jim is a member of the North East of Scotland College Regional Board where he is Joint Vice Chair of the Board and Chairs the Audit & Risk committee.

Gordon has been a life member of the NESPT for over 30 years and a Director since 2017.  Gordon is plumber by trade. He brings a wealth of experience of running community clubs and organisations such as at the Torphins Amateur Football Club, Curling Club and has been a member for the past 17 years of the Torphins Community Council and Gordon District (now Aberdeenshire) Sports Council. Gordon has been involved in numerous community fundraising initiatives in the Torphins and Banchory area.

Paul has worked for NESPT since March 2009. During this time, he has managed the successful restoration of numerous buildings into fully operational commercial assets, as well as developing NESPT into a provider of consultancy services to Aberdeenshire Council, community groups and private individuals.

Before joining NESPT, Paul worked for eight years as a self-employed Consultant and Project Manager. Work included being Project Coordinator for the £2.4 million Eastern Cairngorms Access Project, Project Coordinator for the Ballater Railway Carriage Project, and work for the National Trust for Scotland, Scottish Enterprise and VisitScotland.

Prior to this he spent 13 years in senior management positions with Area Tourist Boards in Grampian, finishing as Director of Operations and Special Projects with Aberdeen and Grampian Tourist Board.

Frances joined the Trust in September 2024, having previously worked in the Buildings Team at the National Trust for Scotland and as an Associate Consultant in the Built Heritage and Townscape team in Scotland for planning consultancy Iceni Projects.  Prior to this, she worked for Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils for 16 years in various teams within the Planning Service; planning policy, development management and built heritage and conservation roles, including project managing the NLHF bid for the Aberdeen City Townscape Heritage Initiative for The Green and leading the Aberdeenshire Council Historic Asset Management Project (HAMP) for 5 years.

She is a chartered town planner and holds full membership of the IHBC.