Late last year Fairfield Hall had a complete change of directors. Seven new people were elected by the Fairfield Hall leaseholders; they stepped into their new roles on 16 November 2018. They are Derek Pugh, Jo Ferri, Gavin O’Brien, Alan Field, Sharon Jones, Magda Korpetta and Lyn Darlington. Fairfield Matters asked them to introduce themselves to the wider community – here’s what they had to say.

During the election process all seven of us committed to openness, transparency, communication and a desire to work with the whole of the Fairfield community.

The openness and communication started with the introduction of the Director Surgery, which we hope will be a long-term arrangement. This takes the form of a drop-in session, where no appointment is necessary and everyone will be seen on a first come first seen basis. The first surgery was held in December and we intend having these every month. A monthly Hall newsletter has also been introduced to keep residents and leaseholders up to date with events and news in and around the Hall.

As you can imagine it’s been a very busy few months since the elections back in November, and slowly the team has become stronger as a group, finding out about each other’s skills and individual expectations/aspirations for the Hall. The main focus has been on what needs to be done on a day-to-day basis to keep the building running efficiently. We have already started to make changes to the existing processes, in a bid to streamline – this, it is hoped, will facilitate a quicker response to maintenance issues within the Hall. Collectively we have started working on a future strategy for the Hall, which will focus on the medium to long term.

Derek was unanimously elected as the Chairman, with Sharon and Alan working together as deputy chairs. Individual roles have been allocated based on skills and interests and the hope is that this will focus individuals on the issues and prevent any overlap of tasks.

The team has started to build bridges with Fairfield Parish Council and has had a very positive initial meeting. Much community spirit exists across Fairfield, and this is something the new Directors wish to harness and enhance. The intention is to work closely with FPC and all third parties for the benefit of all leaseholders of the Hall and the community as a whole.

The Directors are very keen to be seen as approachable and understanding, and we urge anyone to talk to us directly even outside of the monthly surgeries, to prevent small incidents becoming major issues. Life at the Hall should be one built on acceptance, trust and inclusion where everyone is happy most of the time, and enjoys living here – a happy place with a great community spirit where people look out for each other, and the Directors are focused not just on the day-to-day running of the Hall but its long-term future.

Lyn, Jo, Alan, Gavin, Magda, Sharon, Derek