The existing four committee members will be joined by John Everitt, Geoff Nickolds and David Stocker who will be responsible for making decisions on regional applications to the Fund from £50,000 to £2million. They will have their first meeting as observers in late March when the latest grant applications are considered, and participate in the decision making process at the next committee in June.

The HLF Committee for the East Midlands is made up of leading figures in the heritage sector who are chosen for their wide range of experience and local knowledge.

Commenting on the new appointments, Chair of the East Midlands Committee, Christopher Pennell, said: "We look forward with enthusiasm to having John, David and Geoff on the committee. Their respective specialisms present fresh insight, knowledge and expertise that only serves to strengthen how we go about protecting our regions valuable heritage. Their appointment is a strong reminder that the HLF supports natural heritage projects as well as built heritage and museum collections"

Vanessa Harbar, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund East Midlands, said: "We are delighted to be welcoming three new members to the committee. They bring a wealth of experience to the decision making process and will strengthen an already impressive array of heritage expertise. Their wide ranging knowledge and regional understanding will be of great benefit to the heritage of the East Midlands."

John Everitt
Since 2008 John Everitt has been Chief Executive of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, a non-executive Director of EMEC Ecology and Chair of Attenborough Nature Centre Ltd.

Prior to this he worked for the wildlife trusts nationally on policy and advocacy for more than a decade, including time as a non-executive Director of Wildlife and Countryside Link and sitting on the England Biodiversity Group.

He plays a key role in networks across the region including East Midlands Environment Link, Chair of the Sherwood Forest Regional Park Board, Board Member of the Lowland Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Local Nature Partnership and a range of strategic and cultural partnerships in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.

He graduated in Zoology and Masters in Conservation Biology. This has included experience in the UK and overseas, work at Nottingham Trent University, a secondment spell with Natural England and extensive experience of partnership programmes. John's long standing commitment to the voluntary and community sector has included interests and positions relating to education, health and the environment.

Geoff Nickolds
Until July 2005 Geoff Nickolds was the Conservation, Access and Recreation Manager for Severn Trent Water Limited. He worked for the company (previously the Water Authority) for 27 years, and was responsible for heritage, recreation and biodiversity issues across the company's whole region and 50,000 acre estate in his latter 10 years.

He drafted and managed the implementation of Severn Trent Water's Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP), chaired the Water UK / Wildlife Trusts Otters and Rivers Project and was a member of the National BAP committee for the Otter. A graduate in Ecology and Biological Sciences, Geoff is also a certificated Member of the Institute of Fisheries Management, and a Chartered Environmentalist.

Since leaving Severn Trent Water, Geoff has served as Chairman of the Environment Agency (Midlands) Fisheries, Ecology and Recreation Advisory Committee and is a Member of the Peak District National Park Authority where he is the Deputy Chairman of the Authority and chairs the Peak District Local Nature Partnership.

Geoff is a member of the Forestry Commission Regional Advisory Committee for the East Midlands, a trustee of the Trent Rivers Trust and he has also been a member of the National Trust Midlands Regional Advisory Board.

Prof David Andrew Stocker
David Stocker has been closely involved in heritage management at local, regional and national levels for more than thirty years. He holds degrees in History, History of Art, Medieval Studies and Archaeology from Cambridge and York universities. He worked for archaeology and heritage trusts in York and Lincolnshire before moving to the newly founded English Heritage. He took early retirement from English Heritage in 2012 and now holds a Visiting Professorship at the University of Leeds.

Within English Heritage, David played a variety of roles in dozens of projects aimed at conserving all aspects of heritage, particularly those involving medieval and industrial buildings and landscapes in Northern and Midland England, pushing strongly for community involvement, and for community direction where practicable. He was responsible for inaugurating a national program of small town studies, incorporating community components, leading to him developing an acclaimed series of exemplary studies of Lincoln, undertaken by English Heritage in conjunction with the City of Lincoln Council, which have resulted in a distinctive approach to heritage in the city.

He is currently a trustee of the Council for British Archaeology and has also been Director of the British Archaeological Association, a Vice-President of the Society for Medieval Archaeology and was the founding Chair of the Institute for Archaeology's Buildings Group.

Currently Chair of the Society for Church Archaeology, David is the author of many books and articles about ancient buildings and landscapes, and he contributed the East Midlands volume to the 'England's Landscape' series (Harper Collins 2006).

During the 18-plus years that the HLF has existed, the region has shared over £283million supporting more than 2,820 projects. These range from the restoration of historic buildings, improvements to museums and galleries, makeovers for town parks, purchasing works of art and treasured artefacts, helping to conserve the natural environment, and promoting community involvement in conserving local social histories. The projects are both large and small ranging from multi-million pound building refurbishments to local youngsters tracing the history of their local town.

Recent highlights around the region that received funding awarded by the East Midlands committee include Markeaton Park, Lincoln Castle and All our Stories - Raleigh Bicycle Company.

Note to editors

John Everitt and Geoff Nickolds and David Stocker had their first East Midlands Committee meeting on 20 March. The other HLF East Midlands Committee members are: Christopher Pennell, Atul Patel, Sara Crofts and Jean MacIntyre.

Further information

HLF press office: Robert Smith on; 020 7591 6245, email roberts@hlf.org.uk.