Page 2 - ISHA News Autumn 2019

Message from
Mervyn Jones,
ISHA’s new Chair
Hello! I’d like to introduce myself as the new Chair of ISHA. I am delighted to have been selected for this post and hope to contribute to the association’s continuing success.
I’m an adopted North Londoner, with Welsh and West Country roots. I lived in ISHA’s “patch” for nearly 20 years, involving myself in the community in Hackney.
I now live in Barnet, and I’m pleased to say that my two children live near Highbury Corner. I’d like to think that this experience has given me some appreciation of the housing needs of local people.
I have worked as a housing professional since 1975.
I have been Chief Executive of two housing associations (not at the same time!), the first being New Islington & Hackney, now part of Peabody. Since 2006 I have worked as a housing consultant, helping associations to manage their assets better. I am now semi-retired, which gives me the time to help and support the team at ISHA.
People ask me why I wanted to get involved with ISHA. Well apart from the local connection I have had a soft spot for it because it has always punched above its weight. In particular, the North River Alliance, lead by ISHA, has developed many high quality affordable homes that might not have been built without it. But the right to develop depends on delivering a good quality service to existing tenants. In my experience what’s “good” is constantly changing with people’s needs and expectations. So, it’s no surprise that ISHA
Looking to the future, what’s obvious is that we’ll continue to experience lots of change due to the current political climate, with fire safety following the Grenfell tragedy and the continuing pace of innovation in new technology. My mission will be to lead the Board and support Ruth Davison and her team to navigate the way ahead and continue the good work that ISHA has done for the last 86 years.
is having to modernise its services.
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