My second year as Chair has been as enjoyable as the first and has enabled me to deepen my knowledge of the work of the AHF across the UK. As I have done so, I have become ever more convinced of the importance and relevance of the work that the AHF does, and impressed by the knowledge, enthusiasm and professionalism that the team brings to it under Matthew’s leadership.
In January, I visited Cardiff and Merthyr Tydfill to see some of our work in Wales, meeting a range of sector colleagues to discuss some of the pressing issues facing the sector. High on the list of priorities was the challenge faced by so many Places of Worship. Wales has such a richly diverse history of building places of worship, and my visit included a tour of the former Methyr Tydfil synagogue to see how plans for the regeneration of this unique survivor were progressing. The sheer number of redundant chapels and churches is a huge issue, not only for Wales but the wider UK, and the role that adaptive reuse can play in supporting a range of new lives for some of these buildings is a question we continue to look at, on both a project-by-project basis and at a wider strategic level. This is a priority we will continue to focus on in the forthcoming year.
It has been a year of some change in the Board. We said a fond farewell to Myra Barnes, our longstanding Trustee and Vice-Chair. We will miss her calm and considered advice, which has been invaluable to the work of the AHF for over ten years. I am delighted that Audrey Carlin, one of our Scotland Trustees, has agreed to become the new Vice-Chair. We also saw the retirement of our Trustee for Wales, Menna Jones, and we wish her well for the future. We welcomed three new Trustees to the Board, Syreeta Bayne, Andy Westwood and Peter Williams. Each has a wealth of experience in their fields and am sure will be incredible assets to the AHF. Peter will be taking over as Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee when Roy Hodson stands down as a Trustee at the end of his term in early 2025.