Harry Dyke joined Allerdale Borough Council as its first Director of Customer Services in February 2007. He was born in County Durham, attended New College Durham and began his career with Durham County Council.

A Chartered Secretary by profession, most of his career has been spent in democratic and corporate roles with various local authorities in the north, including Gateshead and North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Councils.

Hambleton District Council, based in Northallerton in North Yorkshire, appointed him as Head of Corporate Services and in 2003 he became Head of Customer and Information Services, leading on the council's Access to Services strategy.

Harry enjoys walking and watching motor racing and is also a season ticket holder with Newcastle United FC. Married to Joan, he is a father of four.

Paul Shackley has had a wide and varied career beginning with six years in the Royal Air Force serving as an air traffic controller, followed by three years representing England and Great Britain in international swimming tournaments, including the 1986 Commonwealth Games and winning a FINA world record for masters swimming. Paul went on to be a communications officer handling 999 calls for the Police and patrolling Cheshire as a special constable.

He then put his sporting background to good use in development roles with the Amateur Swimming Association and Amateur Athletics Association before becoming sport development manager at Wakefield Metropolitan Council, in Yorkshire, followed by PE and school sport manager at Sefton Metropolitan Council, near Southport. Prior to joining Allerdale Borough Council, Paul was the strategic leisure manager and then head of Health and Housing at Ashfield District Council in the East Midlands.

Possessing a Postgraduate Certificate in Management and another in Business, Paul likes to unwind by working out at the gym with weights, spinning sessions and boxercise. He is also keen to get back into swimming at Workington Leisure Centre and loves travelling - with visits to see his brother in America being among his favourite trips.

With a BA degree in Philosophy from the University of Newcastle and an MBA from the Open University, specialising in finance and strategy, Jane Allder has worked in both the public and private sector. She began her career in local government in 1986 – working for Bolton Council as a technical programmer on the mainframe computer (which was about 50 times the size of today’s desktop PCs).

Jane continued to work in technology as computing became more of a factor in everyday business – progressing in various roles at Blackburn with Darwen District Council. She then became an IT manager at the systems outsourcing firm Capita. Jane later went to Lancaster City Council as its Head of Information and Customer Services where she created a new customer services model and focussed on how the council could build a better relationship with its customers.

Jane says she favours working in the public sector as “you can see the impact of what you’re doing and make a difference to people’s lives.” She enjoys the great outdoors, especially walking in the Lake District with her husband John, and is working her way through completing all of the Wainwright walks. The couple have a son, George, who is studying for A-Levels.

Charles Holmes came to Allerdale Borough Council as the Head of Regeneration in July 2007 following a long and successful career in public service, which progressed to his appointment as the Council’s Strategic Manager for People.

Charles has a degree in Business and Finance Studies, and commenced his career working for the Department of Trade and Industry in Manchester, attracting inward investment, securing grants for businesses and co-ordinating Manchester and Salford’s city action plan which provided for the regeneration of the Moss Side and Hulme areas following the riots in the 1980s. He then spent five years with Business Link providing business support in the West Cheshire area, before joining Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Council where he continued to work in the field of regeneration and economic development addressing financial and social exclusion. One of his key successes was contributing towards the GM Motors decision to continue investing in the local Vauxhall car plant, thereby safeguarding over 2,000 jobs.

Away from work Charles enjoys cycling, is a member of the Cockermouth Round Table helping out with local fundraising events and also collects rare vinyl records. Charles is married to Adele, and has two young daughters, Freya and Gaia.

Ian Payne joined Allerdale Borough Council in 1976 after gaining a BSc in Town and Country Planning from Birmingham’s Aston University.

Ian began his career with the Council’s planning team before moving into the area of economic development and regeneration in the 1980s. He served as the Council’s Head of Environment before becoming Strategic Manager for Places.

As a committed fell walker, Ian enjoys tackling the mountains of the Lake District as well as other mountainous ranges across the world. He is also a keen photographer and has captured some breathtaking views – both near and far. He plays badminton at Workington Leisure Centre and his passion for sport extends to cycling, running with the Cockermouth Hash House Harriers and he is a recently-qualified scuba diver. Ian is Secretary of Keswick Film Club and the Film Festival Committee. He is married to Elspeth and has two grown-up sons.

Jill Elliott has Allerdale Borough Council in her blood. Born and bred in the borough, she started with the Council as a trainee planning technician, progressing to planning officer before being promoted to senior planner and most recently her role as Strategic Manager for Business.

Jill has a Diploma in Environmental Planning from Liverpool Polytechnic; an MSc in Urban Renewal from Liverpool John Moore University and an MSc in Management from Manchester Metropolitan University. She is also an IDeA accredited planning peer whose expertise is called upon by other councils seeking support and guidance.

Jill is an avid Radio Four listener and enjoys the variety of Allerdale – with its mixture of enterprises and natural environments – making the Council a fascinating place to work as “no two days are the same – the scope of things you deal with make it interesting.”