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ICE North East

Committees

ICE North East's various committees and panels bring together like-minded people and give members the opportunity to increase their knowledge, get advice, and raise the profile and standard of civil engineering.

ICE's work in the North East is carried out by the regional committee. It's made up of branch members and interest groups, and is supported by the Regional Support Team.

Committee members are volunteers and come from a range of backgrounds within the civil engineering profession.

Find out more about how our UK regions are governed.

North East regional committee

The regional committee is responsible for setting the direction of ICE in the North East and making sure that the region achieves its aims. The committee is made up of representatives of the branches, interest groups and sections.

Name Position
Meshi Taka chair
Jim Potter senior vice chair
Sergio Rodriguez junior vice chair
TBC regional hon secretary 
Malcolm Cattermole regional hon treasurer 
Charlotte Flower regional education coordinator 
Graham Yates regional member of council 

Other members: Yanyan Bryan, Paula McMahon, Nuwanthi Thennakoonwela, Robert Chesney, Laura Brown, Graham Yates, Laura O'Toole, Andrew Richmond,Mike Wade, Kirils Holstovs, Sonny Henderson, Alan Ross, Martin Crapper

Branch committees

Our branch committees are diverse, forward-thinking and active. Working with various engineering institutions and organisations involved in the built environment, they aim to increase interest and attendance at meetings to help members continue their professional development. Find out more about our committees below and how to get involved.

The Northumbria branch organises events, technical talks and seminars throughout the year. It represents ICE members living and working in Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear. In normal times events are mainly held in central Newcastle. At the moment events are held online.

Download our Terms of Reference

Name Position
Jim Potter chair
TBC secretary

The Teesside branch represents members living and working in the Tees Valley and welcomes members from neighbouring North Yorkshire. It organises events, technical talks and seminars throughout the year. Branch events are usually held in Middlesbrough.

Download our Terms of Reference

Name Position
Sergio Rodriguez chair
TBC secretary

Early Careers Network

The ECNet represents over 900 graduate and student, apprentice and technician ICE members living within the region. It organises regular events, seminars, competitions and socials. These help members develop their careers and get support, as well as providing opportunities for like-minded people to meet and network.

The ECNet runs many events and initiatives to get schools and local communities involved in civil engineering.

It's managed by a committee of core members who are elected annually. The committee meets once a month. Key members of the ECNet also sit on the ICE North East regional committee and regional executive board.

Download the terms of reference

Name Position
Adam Wilkinson chair
Ruby Alderston secretary

Special interest groups

The North East region's special interest groups (SIGs) focus on particular aspects of civil engineering. The groups are run by members on a voluntary basis, and provide an opportunity to discuss topics, share knowledge and meet up for social activities.

The Regional Advisory Board gives expert advice on a range of industry sectors.

The board provides informed debate, and promotes a coherent strategy for infrastructure development in the region. It also contributes to ICE's State of the Nation reports, both nationally, and from a regional perspective.

Download the terms of reference

Name Position
Chris Jolley transport
Laura O'Toole transport
Brian Wilson rail
James Hollender energy
George Hare water
Richard Warneford water
Phil Welton flooding
John Robinson flooding
Donald Daly flooding
Oliver Heidrich flooding/sustainability
Robert Thorniley-Walker FICE environment, climate change
Garry Edwards drainage
Professor David Toll heotechnical
John Jeffrey H&S
Sarah Kellerman procurement/law
Martin Heddon structures

We are actively recruiting members to join the education panel, please get in touch at [email protected] if you would like to find out more. Download the terms of reference

The Northern Geotechnical Group (NGG) is a focal point for the local geotechnical community.

It organises a full programme of technical meetings and seminars throughout the year.

Anyone with an interest in geotechnical engineering is welcome to come along to events.

Name Position
Andrew Richmond chair
David Hinxman secretary and treasurer

The ICE North East Heritage Panel is a group of civil engineers who are interested in the history of the profession.

It has published regional guides and leaflets on the subject and also works with the national Panel for Historical Engineering Works (PHEW). They identify historical engineering works and, in some cases, preserve and add them to an online database.

The panel also organises heritage walks describing some of Newcastle's historic buildings, structures and notable engineers.

Anyone with an interest in historical engineering is welcome to join the panel. If you'd like to get involved or find out more about talks, walks and other aspects of the panel's work, please contact [email protected]

Download the terms of reference

Heritage links

Name Position
David Yates member
Donald McCartney member

The ICE North East Seniors Group was formed in 1990 specifically to arrange events and activities for engineers who are retired or nearing retirement. Meetings are held approximately once a month and include:

  • Visits to sites of engineering interest
  • Talks on subjects of historical or present engineering interest, or of a more general/topical interest
  • Social events, including an annual lunch

The group is informal and places particular importance on the social aspects of its activities. Partners of members are particularly welcome to join in. As events and activities are usually held during the daytime, this often provides the opportunity to enjoy a leisurely and sociable lunch in a convivial atmosphere

A quarterly newsletter is circulated.

A modest annual subscription fee (currently £10) is made for membership of the group and this supports financial underwriting of its activities.

If you're a retired or semi-retired ICE member or are still working but able to come to day-time meetings, the group would like to hear from you.

Download a copy of the senior members' newsletter

Name Position
Neil Buchanan president
Eric Valentine chair
Mike Wade immediate past chair
Chris Norris treasurer
Malcolm Smith membership secretary
John Roper events coordinator
Paul Fenwick member
Mike Gardiner member
Doug Shearer account examiner
Margot Wade newsletter editor