ADA welcomes it’s Deputy Chair and new Vice Presidents

After a successful search and recruitment process, ADA is delighted to welcome Michael Sly MBE as its Deputy Chair following his appointment by the ADA Board at their July meeting. Michael has been appointed to work alongside Robert Caudwell with the intention of succeeding Robert as ADA Chair, subject to the support of the majority of the Board, at the 2026 AGM.

Michael is a familiar face to many amongst the farming and IDB community in the Fens. Michael chairs the North Level District Internal Drainage Board, which carefully manages water levels across 34,000 hectares in the heart of the Fens between Peterborough and Wisbech. For the last three years, Michael’s farm at Thorney has also been the venue for ADA’s successful annual Environment Day and, with family, he farms in the Fens of North Cambridgeshire and South Lincolnshire, farming 2,000 hectares, across three farming businesses. The Sly family has been involved in drainage and farming in the Fens since the 17th Century and the farms grow a variety of crops. Michael has recently stood down as chair of the NFU Sugar Board, and has served as NFU county chair and the council delegate for Cambridgeshire. He was also a member of the Anglian (Northern) RFCC over a period of 10 years.

On accepting the post, Michael said “I greatly look forward to working with everyone across the water level and flood risk management sector to help ensure that we enhance the awareness of the vital importance of water in everyone’s daily lives and promote the need for us to work together to properly manage and maintain our water resource and drainage infrastructure.”

Vice Presidents

ADA’s Board of Directors is also delighted to announce the appointment of two new Vice Presidents.

Res.Col (ret.) Peter C.G. Glas MSc LLM was a consultant in the Netherlands for twenty years from 1983 to 2003, before entering into Dutch public service. He was elected to the Delfland Waterboard in 1999, and then appointed as Head (Dijkgraaf) of Waterboard De Dommel in 2003 and served as president of the Dutch Association of Regional Water Authorities from 2010 to 2015. In 2019 he was appointed by HM King Willem Alexander as the Netherlands’ independent Delta Commissioner. He was the first president of the OECD Water Governance Initiative in Paris from 2013-2022. Peter is now retired but still holds several supervisory and advisory capacities, commissioned by the Dutch government. ADA warmly welcomes the opportunity to exchange views and opinions on water management and enhance connections between the UK and the Netherlands on the subject.

Lee Pitcher MP is the Labour member of parliament for Doncaster East and Isle of Axholme, elected to the seat in July 2024. Immediately prior to that, Lee was chair and mayor of Hatfield Town Council and professionally, Lee has worked with consultants Jacobs and then with Yorkshire Water as the water company’s Head of Partnerships. Large parts of Lee’s constituency are low-lying and vulnerable to flooding and Lee’s wide knowledge of water management, linked to his role as an MP, will be very valuable in helping promote the understanding of water level and flood risk management. Lee is also chair of the joint ADA/CIWEM-run All Party Parliamentary Group for Sustainable Flood & Drought Management. ADA very much welcomes working with Lee, and his support as an increasing number of MPs becoming interested in water level and flood risk management.

For press enquiries please contact:
Eur Ing J Innes Thomson BSc CEng FICE
Chief Executive
Association of Drainage Authorities
Rural Innovation Centre, Avenue H, Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire CV8 2LG
e-mail: innes.thomson@ada.org.uk
Website: www.ada.org.uk

Ian Moodie MSci
Technical Manager
Association of Drainage Authorities
Rural Innovation Centre, Avenue H, Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, CV8 2LG
Office Tel: 02476 992 889
Email: ian.moodie@ada.org.uk

Ryan Dixon
Publications & Communications Officer
Association of Drainage Authorities
Rural Innovation Centre, Avenue H, Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, CV8 2LG
Office Tel: 02476 992 889
Email: ryan.dixon@ada.org.uk

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