Councillor Noel Atkins

Noel was educated at Whitgift School in south Croydon, where he joined the naval section of the Combined Cadet Force. He subsequently gained the Queen’s commission into the Royal Navy as Sub Lieutenant where he trained. Later he served 20 years in the Royal Naval Reserve during both the Cold War period and the IRA Insurgencies. He qualified as a Diving Instructor and Mine Disposal Officer, Torpedo and Anti-Submarine Officer, Watchkeeper and Navigator. Promoted to Lieutenant Commander and served as First Lieutenant Executive Officer of the Warship HMS Kellington, serving with NATO forces in the Mediterranean. Noel was decorated by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II with the Reserve Decoration (RD).

Noel served as Chairman of Trussell Trust UK Foodbanks Charity which founded over 1,200 foodbanks throughout the nation. Noel subsequently joined Heene Community Association as Business Development Manager, during which time he received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, MBE for Voluntary Groups.

Noel was elected to Worthing Borough Council, where he has served for the past 17 years, now as Vice-Chair of Planning. In 2017 he was elected to West Sussex County Council where he serves on the Planning and Rights of Way Committee as well as the Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee.

Noel is currently employed as Worthing’s Debt Centre Manager, for Christians Against Poverty, taking a tsunami of clients through the process of becoming debt free and earning a City & Guilds in debt counselling.

Noel also supports veterans as Chair of Worthing’s Royal Naval Association. He instigated the notice of motion to the County Council on the Military Covenant to go for the gold award which was successfully awarded to the County Council in August 2020.

In 2020 Noel became a proud trustee of Building Heroes Education Foundation and subsequently a director of Building Heroes Property Services as well as a local authority school governor.

Outside of work Noel enjoys spending time with his danish wife Helena and their five adult children, as well as watching rugby, where he used to captain a naval team in his earlier years.

Allowances and expenses