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KENT IS TOP PRIORITY FOR LORD LIEUTENANT
18th December 2002
A double retirement for Kent-based international businessman
Allan Willett CMG means he will be able to devote more time to
serving the county of Kent in his role as Lord Lieutenant.
Now standing down as Chairman of the South East England Development
Agency (SEEDA) after four years in the post, Allan is also relinquishing
the Chairmanship of the global coding and labelling company Willett
International Limited in January 2003, following the announcement
of an agreement to sell it to an American industrial group.
"Thanks to this happy coincidence, I will now have more
time on my hands which I intend to dedicate to my work as Lord
Lieutenant and to those organisations in Kent of which I am patron
or president," said Allan Willett.
"This will also provide an opportunity for me to develop
the role of the Lieutenancy in Kent and to work more closely with
my Deputy Lieutenants across the county," he added.
Allan was appointed by the Government as the first Chairman of
SEEDA in 1998 and has steered the organisation through its formation
and first four years.
Business leaders, MPs from all parties and regional government
figures have been among those paying tribute to his work as head
of SEEDA.
During his time as Chairman, the business-led organisation has
invested £250 million on behalf of the region, helped create
or safeguard 24,000 jobs, reclaimed for development nearly 350
acres of land. provided 48,000 training places, supported 17,000
small companies and provided funding for more than a quarter of
a million square feet of space to incubate new high-tech enterprises.
Notable achievements for SEEDA over the past four years have
included the renaissance of Chatham Maritime at the heart of the
Medway Towns, the regeneration of the former Kent colliery sites,
the creation of the region-wide Enterprise Hubs initiative and
leadership of the Taskforce regenerating Hastings and Bexhill.
Allan became Lord Lieutenant of Kent in January 2002.
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