A stand-up comedian from Birmingham, the headteacher of a leading public school and a former ambassador and foreign policy adviser to Tony Blair are to join a 14-strong board that will run the £17million Turner Centre in Margate.

Only five of the 14 trustees, who will take responsibility for the gallery once built, have Kent connections and only one has a direct link with Margate.

They are:

• Jane Bishop, the owner of the Walpole Bay Hotel in Margate

• Neil Webster, the managing director of radio station Invicta FM

• Clive Stevens, managing director of a major accountancy firm in the county

• Senior county councillor Mike Hill (Con), cabinet member for communities.

• Katy Ricks is the headteacher of Sevenoaks School, a leading independent school.

Among the other nine is Shazia Mirza, an award-winning stand-up Muslim comedian who comes from Birmingam and this year became the first British comedian to appear in Pakistan and Sir David Manning, who was British Ambassador to the United States between 2003 and 2007 and is regarded as among the most influential diplomats of the last decade, acting as foreign policy adviser to Tony Blair for two years.

Other appointees are Roly Keating, who was controller of BBC 2 until this year when he left that role to take up a job as the BBC’s first director of archive content.

Other board members appointed have extensive experience in the arts. They include Tamsin Dillon, who heads the London Underground’s art programme "Art On The Underground." Artist Laura Ford, who studied at Bath Academy of Art and the Chelsea School of Art, is well-known for her sculptures based on children’s fables.

Margate county councillor Clive Hart said he was disappointed that there were not more members with connections to Margate.

"I have to say this list falls well short of what I would call local expertise. It looks like those leading the project are returning to their ‘folk from outside know what’s best for Margate’ mode which proved disastrous last time," he said.

Mr Kampfner, who oversaw the recruitment process, said the board included exceptional local and national figures. "Each brings with them specific skills that will provide strong and professional oversight for the organisation," he said.

Building work on the gallery, designed by leading architect David Chipperfield, is due to begin shortly and be completed in 2010.