Your BPA team Meet the area managers In the final part of our series on the BPA area managers, we meet senior area manager Ryan Davey and new starters Colin Sproats and William Clark Which area do you cover? Ryan Davey (RD): I am the senior area manager, so I oversee all of the UK, but I also have an individual area Durham, Cleveland, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire. Colin Sproats (CS): I cover the eastern region of England, which runs from Humberside and Doncaster across towards Great Yarmouth and along the coast to Ipswich, encompassing Cambridgeshire and across to Northamptonshire, Milton Keynes and Luton. William Clark (WC): I cover Scotland, Northern Ireland and North England. How long have you worked as a BPA area manager? RD: I have been an area manager since June 2018 and senior area manager since February 2022. CS: I have been with the BPA for eight weeks as an area manager. WC: I have been working in the post since March. What did you do before you joined the BPA? RD: I worked for Cleveland Police for 11 years, first working in neighbourhood policing and then crime prevention. CS: I worked for five years as an operations manager for a safety supplier, providing safety equipment and PPE across the east of England. Before that, I worked for Cambridgeshire County Council for nearly nine years, where I ran a food production and distribution centre, supplying I had no idea that there was so much involved in and with the parking sector. Its been a real eye opener for me frozen meals to more than 300 schools across Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. WC: I come from a policing background, having spent a good part of my service working within crime prevention and community safety, with a large focus on partnership working. I then did some security consultancy work at Forth Valley Royal Hospital before taking up a post with the British Security Industry Association. Latterly, I was manager of Neighbourhood Watch Scotland. What is the most satisfying part of your job? RD: The partnership working. I enjoy working with the police and operators to raise the standards of their car parks to ensure they are safe and accessible for all. CS: Everyone I have met at the BPA has been very welcoming, and really made me feel like I could ask for help or advice. The work environment is professional and very calm, although busy, and everyone is approachable from the designing out crime officers to the parking operators and the BPA staff. They have all been great. I also enjoy that I can plan where Im going, to some extent, around my family life, as I have a young family and a crazy, energetic cocker spaniel puppy. WC: I have been impressed by the really warm welcome I have received from everyone and already feel part of the BPA team. There is obviously a lot to learn, but I know the team has a wealth of knowledge and expertise to support and point me in the right direction. Has there been a particular job that stands out in your mind, or anything that has surprised you about the sector? RD: Last year, I visited Middlesbrough Sports Village, which had been experiencing some issues with crime in its car parks. Working with Steve 46 PN June 2023 pp46-47 Area managers.indd 46 23/05/2023 14:17