Our People
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TRUSTEES
Peter Ducksbury - Chair Carolyn Roberson - Vice Chair Jennifer Hale - Chair of Finance Committee Hilary Fitch - Chair of Letting Committee Deborah Lund - Chair of Building Committee Louise Gray - Trustee John Stirling - Trustee Suzie Barron - Trustee |
ADMINISTRATION
H&H Land & Estates, Suite 1, Cumbria Tourism Business Centre, Windermere Road, Staveley, LA8 9PL Colin Tomlinson - Clerk Rachel Bagshaw - Chartered Surveyor Karen Philipson - Client Accounting Manager Julie Whitaker - Secretary |
Peter Ducksbury
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I have been Kendal Almshouses Charity’s Chair since 2014 and a Trustee since April 2005. My role as Chair is to oversee the sound governance of the charity, lead its strategic direction and ensure good management of its properties and assets. I chair the Contract Management Committee which oversees the provision of property maintenance services to our residents, a member of the Finance Committee and a member of the Buildings Committee.
My background is in housing, working at South Lakeland District Council for 14 years as a Housing Improvement Manager. Since leaving the Council, I have been Chief Executive of Westmorland County Football Association Limited for 18 years, before becoming Vice Chair of the Football Association Facilities Committee in 2020, a member of The Football Association Council since 2018 and on the Ambassadorial Panel since 2020. I am a ‘local lad’, going to school in Kendal and atttending UCLAN, and continuing to live in Kendal. |
Hilary Fitch
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I moved to the Lake District in 1985, eager to take up a secondary school teaching post in such a beautiful area. Now retired after 29 years teaching mainly Physics and Information Technology to pupils aged 11 to 18, I spend my time working on local community projects.
A trustee of Kendal Almshouses since November 2016. I also chair the Lettings Committee which is responsible for overseeing applications for properties when vacancies arise. |
John Stirling
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I have been a Trustee of Kendal Almshouses since January 2019 and, prior to that, have spent most of my working life as a Police Officer. My last operational role with Cumbria Constabulary was working the Hallgarth, Burneside Road and Windermere Road areas of Kendal. It was working with on the Hallgarth Estate with South Lakes and Home Group which sparked my interest in housing.
After leaving the Police, I then worked for South Lakes Housing as a Tenant Engagement Officer, working across all towns and villages across South Lakeland. I am now retired from employment and am a Director with Blues and Twos Credit Union (on an unpaid basis), an Industrial Credit Union. |
Deborah Lund
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I am an experienced Chartered Surveyor working for GSC Grays in Kirkby Lonsdale. I have been a trustee of Kendal Almshouses since April 2018. My responsibilities at Carter Jonas including managing many Cumbrian properties for a wide range of clients, ensuring they are maintained to high standards.
As a trustee of Kendal Almshouses, I enjoy being able to contribute to the forward direction of the charity by drawing on my own knowledge and experience of the residential sector. I am also Chair of the Buildings Committee, overseeing any development proposals which the charity considers as part of its aims and objectives. |
Carolyn Roberson
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I have spent my working life in executive management roles in the professional services sector and, in parallel, always undertaken trustee and voluntary roles as part of own personal commitment to contribute positively to my local communities.
I am a former non-executive director of The Royal Liverpool Children’s Hospital (Alder Hey) and was an active fundraiser for the NSPCC for a decade. I have been a trustee of The Guy Pilkington Memorial Home Ltd which runs Fairfield Independent Hospital (St Helens) and retirement bungalows since 2011 and Vice Chair since 2019, as well as Chair of the hospital’s Capital Development Committee. Moving to South Lakeland in 2016 when I married, I became a trustee of Kendal Almshouses in 2017 and Vice Chair in 2020. I am a member of the Lettings Committee and the Contract Management Committee. I continue to work on a part time basis for local businesses and, in 2019, became a Justice of the Peace in the Family Court in South Cumbria. |
Louise Gray
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Louise has worked in housing for the last 15 years with a focus on supported housing.
She is passionate about providing quality housing that supports and enables independence, choice and dignity. Louise currently has a county-wide role managing the care and support services for a local housing association. |
Jennifer Hale
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I am an experienced chartered accountant working for PwC, with responsibility for the audits of a number of large finance services clients in the UK, but have historically been involved in the audits of charities and not for profit entities. I have lived in South Lakes since September 2014 and have recently become a Trustee of Kendal Almshouses in October 2021.
I am a member of the finance committee and am able to share my experiences in relation to financial reporting and financial statement disclosures. Having worked closely with charities in the past, I can give a perspective on the priorities of the Charities Commission and my observations around governance and good financial controls and practices. |
Suzie Barron
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I am an experienced Chartered Surveyor working for GSC Grays in Kirkby Lonsdale. I graduated from Sheffield Hallam University and worked in Leeds for two national firms specialising in Commercial Agency for over 10 years. As well as being involved in Commercial and Rural Agency work, I also specialise in general Estate Management for private clients, trusts and institutional clients. I deal with a wide range of commercial and residential properties across Cumbria and advise clients as to the best approach when considering the best use of property. Having been born and brought up in Kendal I felt I could contribute to the Kendal Almshouses Charity by using my local knowledge and experience within the property sector.
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