We Have Appointed A New Community Officer
We have appointed a new Community Officer to significantly strengthen our relationship with local communities.
The newly-created role highlights our Estate’s conviction that we have a role to play in supporting surrounding villages, and hopes to play a greater part in helping us to achieve our key economic, social and green goals.
Merilyn Davies, the former Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities at West Oxfordshire District Council, has accepted the post and is looking forward to forging stronger links between our estate and wider communities.
“I am very much looking forward to the new role. I am keen to continue my work strengthening local communities and believe Blenheim is perfectly placed to help me do this,” she said.
“My understanding of Blenheim’s role in local communities, as well as a knowledge of their specific needs, will, I hope, allow me to strengthen the relationship with surrounding villages and give local people a voice at the heart of Blenheim’s work,” she added.
Our Community Officer will act as a liaison between the surrounding villages of Long Hanborough, Church Hanborough, Coombe, Stonesfield, Wotton and Bladon and will work alongside the existing Woodstock Community Officer.
It is hoped this new role will act as a catalyst to stimulate and support the development of community groups and organisations to identify and meet existing or emerging needs
Merilyn will also work with key stakeholders such as clubs, groups, councils, governing bodies, churches, membership bodies, charities, resident groups and schools.
“Our goals are intrinsically linked to the community and our efforts need to be stronger than ever post covid to drive economic, social and green value into the area via these goals,” said Blenheim’s Chief Executive Dominic Hare.
“Merilyn’s new role of community officer role is an exciting opportunity to help achieve these goals, inform, and drive new initiatives that will benefit the community.
“Our aim is also to equip, support and signpost individuals and groups to services and to encourage the utilisation of available resources both here at Blenheim and in the surrounding area,” he added.
We are halfway into our 10-year programme of key goals designed to revolutionise the way our Estate is run to face the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.
They include becoming carbon neutral by 2027 and removing 230,000 tonnes of CO2e from the atmosphere by 2050, tripling our Estate’s contribution to the local economy, housing 300 families in high quality affordable homes and completing £40m of vital restoration.
We are also committed to training of 100 apprentices, becoming one of the UK’s Top 100 employers and doubling our charitable contribution to the local community.