WEST Somerset Railway chairman Jonathan Jones Pratt has announced a number of significant staff changes – two new appointments in key roles and a departure too.

Danny Scroggins will be the WSR safety and compliance officer, and Bob Meanley will be joining the team as acting chief mechanical engineer.

But head of finance, finance director and company secretary Richard Maw has resigned from all three posts he held with immediate effect for personal reasons.

Joining the WSR team in April 2017, originally as head of finance, Mr Maw’s experience and financial expertise soon saw him take on the role to line manage the commercial department.

In the early part of 2018, he was co-opted to the board as finance director and he later also became the company secretary.

Mr Scroggins is already known through his involvement with the Heritage Operating Processing System (HOPS) and his new role will include ensuring a smooth introduction to the HOPS system on the WSR.

It will also include a full review of the SMS and other safety reviews, and to ensure best practice standards are achieved. 

Mr Meanley is well known for his work over the last 25 years at Tyseley loco works. His appointment as acting chief mechanical engineer is one of the first steps in WSR’s high-level restructuring plan which began recently.

For a full report, buy this week’s Free Press.