High Sheriff in Nomination for 2023/24: Theresa Peltier

Theresa retired as the Head of Equality for Derbyshire Police in December 2019, having spent 27 years in policing. From 1977 she did various roles before joining Nottinghamshire Constabulary in 1992 as a Criminal Law Clerk, advising police officers on the standard of evidence and making charging decisions. During this time, she gained her management degree from Nottingham Trent University, before moving to Derbyshire Police in 1998.

Theresa has always held a strong commitment to equality and fairness. As a consequence, she immersed herself in the force’s staff support networks, holding various committee positions where she was able to influence change for the benefit of officers and staff, and through her work, she secured the position of Head of Equality. She was part of numerous strategic governance boards, contributing to the force’s direction of travel, as well as representing the force on a national platform. Her role enabled her to work with the Home Office, National Police Chief’s Council, Equality and Human Rights Commission, the College of Policing and national staff associations.

She also spent many years as a Victim Support volunteer, trained as a mediator and life coach and in 2007 introduced a youth leadership and mentoring programme, working with the Derbyshire Probation Service and Connexions.

In 2010 Theresa became Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Bedfordshire Police, as well as becoming Vice-President of the National Black Police Association. She led on the implementation of hate crime and stop & search scrutiny for the force, and oversaw the Disability-Related Harassment Inquiry launched by the Equality and Human Rights Commission before returning to Derbyshire in 2012.

Theresa considers herself blessed to have been the recipient of a number of awards. In 2009 she was honoured to become the national recipient of the Police Staff of the Year Award from the British Association of Women in Policing and has received two Chief Constable Commendations for her work in Equality and Inclusion. Just prior to her retirement she received accolades of Police Staff of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Awards from the National and Derbyshire Black Police Associations. She was privileged to hold the position of Chair of Derbyshire upon her retirement – a position she held on a number of occasions throughout her policing career.

Since 2008 Theresa has sat on an adoption panel and is now one of the Vice-Chairs on the Adoption East Midlands Panels. She has always considered this a great privilege and the role is extremely important to her. She added to this by joining Derby City Fostering Panel in 2017.

Since her retirement, she is an Associate with the College of Policing and is an active member of her local community in Wirksworth. She enjoys the performing arts, jazz, reading and walking. A strong advocate of holistic therapy, she holds several qualifications in this area. Theresa has a life partner, son, daughter and five grandchildren.

 

High Sheriff in Nomination for 2024/25: Ian Morgan

Ian Morgan is Deputy Chairman of the Wellglade Group, an independent group of six local bus operators and a cleaning business. The largest and most widely known subsidiary is trentbarton.

With a fleet in excess of 480 buses and 1,500 employees, Wellglade is the largest independent bus operator in the UK and has been owned entirely by its managers and employees since 1986.

Ian has been in the bus business for over 40 years and was Chairman of the bus industry’s trade association, the Confederation of Passenger Transport for nine years.

He has been Chair of the Board of Directors of the East Midlands Chamber of Commerce for three years having previously served as its President and as a Board member.

He has also served on the Board of D2N2, the Local Enterprise Partnership and he is a member of the University of Derby’s Invest to Grow panel. He is a volunteer for Enterprise for Education (e4e) which links employers with schools to help students prepare for the world of work.

In 2016 he was elected Chairman of Derbyshire County Cricket Club, a post which he still holds.

Ian was awarded the OBE in 2015 for services to the bus industry and the business community in the East Midlands.

He is married to Sylvia and they have two sons and three grandchildren. Their second son has followed him into the bus industry. In his spare time, Ian follows the England cricket team around the world, is a season ticket holder at Derby County FC, and enjoys wine tasting, travelling and playing an occasional round of golf.

 

High Sheriff in Nomination for 2025/26: Sir Richard FitzHerbert Bt

Sir Richard FitzHerbert is an independent rural affairs specialist and small business chief executive who lives with his wife Fiona live at the Grade II listed Tissington Hall near Ashbourne in Derbyshire’s Peak District. Richard inherited the Hall and 2000-acre Estate at the age of 25 from his late uncle in 1989 and has been working to restore it ever since. He also writes a monthly column on Derbyshire issues for the local magazine ‘Derbyshire Life’.

In addition to running Herbert’s Fine English Tearooms, the Estate businesses also include a wedding venue, several holiday cottages, B&Bs, an Estate shoot and miscellaneous lets. They have four children, six dogs, and one cat, with whom they try and keep the house warm.

Alongside his stately home opening operations, Sir Richard is also the Chair of the Peak District & Derbyshire DMP (Destination Management Partnership) more commonly known as the local Tourist Board; a former Board Member of EMT (East Midlands Tourism) and a former Board member of Historic Houses Association (the HHA being the Union of the Larger Country Houses independently owned in the country). Sir Richard is also a past President of Derbyshire Scouts and past President of Foundation Derbyshire.

In 2006, Sir Richard won the Bledisloe Gold Medal for Landowners from the RASE (Royal Agricultural Society of England). This was an award given to him in recognition of:

“A Landowner who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in the successful land management and development of an agricultural Estate in England.”

Six of Sir Richard‘s forebearers have attained the role of High Sheriff, with five representing Derbyshire and Sir Hugo (the sixth Baronet) as Nottinghamshire High Sheriff in 1920.

Born in Derby in 1963, Sir Richard delights in championing the people, the countryside, the welcome, and the delights of the county of which he is so proud.