We held a rather different Annual General Meeting this week, as after the formal business was concluded there was a small celebration.
The Chair of the Board, Mervyn Jones, was ending his permitted tenure of six years, and we took the opportunity to thank him for his dedication to ISHA in that time, marking some of his notable leadership achievements. To cap that, it was also his 50th year in the sector which deserved recognition.
On Wednesday evening, in the assembly rooms at Hackney Town Hall, the borough where we have most of our homes, the occasion was marked with a glass of bubbly and nibbles, and the chance to chat informally to the invited guests. Among them our residents, stakeholders and contractors and staff.
Our new Board Chair, Bob Heapy, was there, who presented Mervyn with a token gift of thanks, and the two formalised the handover. Also present and who addressed the room, was our new Chief Executive, Pippa Fleetwood-Read, who joins us officially on 1 October.
Another farewell was made and token gift presented to Heather Topel who has also served her full term on the board.
As we say goodbye, we also look forward to our new leadership beginning.
A tribute to Mervyn
While tributes were made to Mervyn at the AGM, Board Member Justin Fisher penned this summary of his service to your housing association and you, our residents.
“Mervyn stepping down brings to a close a period that has tested the organisation but also made it stronger and more resilient. Under his leadership, ISHA has had to navigate welfare reform, the impact of Covid-19, the fire safety crisis, a large-scale contractor dispute, a cyber-attack and even a collusive fraud in neighbourhood services. These were serious challenges, yet throughout, Mervyn’s focus has remained on ensuring that residents are at the heart of everything ISHA does.
One of his most important contributions has been strengthening ISHA’s financial controls and governance. That work has restored the Regulator’s confidence and returned ISHA to G1 status. At the same time, Mervyn has championed resident involvement. Initiatives such as the Neighbourhood Knock, the Resident Scrutiny Panel and establishing the associate board member programme have embedded a culture of listening to residents and shaping services around their needs.
Beyond ISHA itself, Mervyn has supported wider partnerships, such as the North River Alliance, and took pride in celebrating ISHA’s 90th anniversary last year – a moment to recognise both history and future ambition.
I had the privilege of meeting Mervyn for lunch recently to reflect on his legacy. We spoke not only about ISHA’s journey, but about the wider sector and the intense scrutiny social housing is placed under. It often feels disproportionate when compared to the private rented sector, which typically has poorer quality homes, higher rents and no statutory standards such as Decent Homes. It was a reminder that while accountability is essential, the focus should be fair and balanced across all tenures - and hopefully incoming legislation will level that.
This year also marks a remarkable personal milestone for Mervyn, 50 years in social housing. That half century of service speaks for itself: a lifetime committed to building better homes, safer communities and fairer opportunities.
He leaves ISHA in a much stronger place: financially robust, with improved governance, and with residents more firmly at the centre of decision-making. His legacy is one of resilience, renewal and resident focus, and the organisation is well-placed for the future because of it.”
