GHRA Committee 2024/25

Listed in alphabetical order:

Stephen Aggett

Living on Edmunds Drive in a Danwood house, I currently juggle duties as a contract software engineer, father of two small children and Chair of the GHRA.

Whatever I do, I believe in transparency, kindness and a bias for action (it’s better to have tried and failed than to have never tried at all). I hope you think I’ve been doing a good job leading the GHRA; if you disagree, please let me know why and don’t vote for me.

I love getting to know new residents so if you see me around please don’t hesitate to say hi.

Paul Bannister

I moved to Read Place in August and would like to become involved in the Residents Association to help and possibly make Graven Hill Village an even better place to live.

In my last home (a small village in Warwickshire) I was very involved in the community there, on the Village Hall Committee (I started and ran a monthly film evening for 8 years) and was on the Parish Council for a while.

I’m looking to find out more about this lovely GH ‘village’ and I’d like to see the community flourish as it grows.

Alex Bell

A Graven Hill resident of four years and self-builder for two years before that, I mostly scratch the itch for tinkering that remains by perpetually restructuring our little garden and creating increasingly over-the-top Halloween displays with my wife and daughter.

I’m an Engineer with twenty five years’ experience behind me and have spent much of my career inspecting, investigating and appraising existing buildings. A lot of my work has involved identifying evidence of below-standard building practices, the material impact of such failings and suggesting ways that existing defects can be rectified. However, I have learned through building my own house that it’s much easier to find fault in someone else’s work than to ensure that no mistakes are made under your own watch!

As a member of the Residents Association committee over the past year, I’ve mostly focussed on my area of expertise and have tried to find the time to offer advice to residents that have approached the RA with concerns of their own.

Like many others I think that it’s really the community – the people here – that make Graven Hill such a unique and vibrant place to live and having seen the remarkable work that RA do behind the scenes on all sorts of issues, I would be pleased to continue to offer what I can in terms of time and expertise.

Sarah Chaplin

I’m Sarah and I have recently moved into Read Place with my two daughters and our dog. My eldest is 15 and home educated, my youngest is 3 and has been attending Graven Hill Pre-School since January. 

I was a primary school teacher for 17 years in both the state and independent sector and have a strong passion for ensuring that all children have an equality in the opportunities that they have access to. I now work part time as a teaching assistant at another local primary school and part time for Orchard Baptist Church hoping to build supportive networks for children and families on Graven Hill.

Since moving to Graven Hill, I have enjoyed getting more involved in the life of the school and volunteering at the GHRA Annual Fete.

It feels like an exciting and challenging time to be involved in the Residents’ Association as the community continues to grow and communal areas are developed. I love the diversity of Graven Hill and want to do my best to ensure that each member of our community feels heard and represented.

Paul Davis – Chair

Hi everyone, I’ve been a resident for six years and was one of the first self-builders to move to Graven Hill. Whilst originally from a software development background, I have spent the last ten years of my career leading an IT consultancy and customer support department and am very familiar dealing with the requirements, expectations, and contractual arrangements of a broad range of customers in both public and private sectors. I believe this experience would be useful in representing the best interests of residents to those providing the infrastructure and other needs of our community. I have also worked with the committee over the last year on a few matters including resident privacy and GDPR.

Like others, I expected GHVDC might have delivered more of its original vision by now but appreciate that significant external events have required a degree of compromise and pragmatism. I would though like to see better clarity and engagement concerning the remaining elements of the masterplan. Furthermore, as important as it is to hold to account those delivering for our community, my experience has shown that better outcomes are achieved by balancing this with maintaining good relationships and communication channels with those concerned. 

With that said, I recognise that Graven Hill is not just a grand self-build project and believe there should be a focus on the interests of all the residents that make up our unique community.

Iskra Garbachkova

I’m Iskra and I live on Edmunds Drive in a custom built home.

It has been a rewarding experience to be part of the Residents Association over the past year, and I take pride in the positive outcomes we have achieved for our neighbours. I would love to continue volunteering and contributing to the Association’s mission of supporting our lovely community.

On a personal level, I am enthusiastic, positive with a strong sense of responsibility. I am committed to fostering a collaborative relationship with the developer and inclusivity within our neighbourhood.

Professionally, I am a qualified architect with 12 years of experience in the industry. My work is predominantly in the residential sector and I hope that my knowledge, expertise and passion for sustainability/energy efficient housing would be valuable for the residents.

I hope that my professional expertise and community-oriented mindset will continue to be beneficial for my neighbours and will be invaluable for the association to achieve its goals. Thank you for considering my application.

Fred Goldie – Secretary

I was previously Secretary to a smaller but lively Residents Association in Worthing, of about 100 households. I served in this role for 12 years, taking minutes and maintaining communications with members through monthly newsletters.

I hope some of this experience is transferrable. My aim in GHRA would be to encourage openness between the RA and its members. Some tasks I foresee are:

  • Keeping previous minutes online in a readily accessible place on the website
  • Reporting fresh developments by keeping the “News” section up to date, and by e-mailing updates where needed
  • Managing and replying to traffic on the “Contact” channel of the website
Chris Grasby

Let’s be realistic, steering our new community through its many challenges can be frustrating. For many of us perhaps the expectations arriving in Graven Hill have fallen short of the promises we imagined would be delivered. As a committee member these past months it’s been like this. I have been involved in several particular activities including arranging for a community defibrillator, getting a public noticeboard in place and as an architect (retired) working with the Building Standards group. It can feel like pushing water uphill much of the time. But the Residents’ Association has a vital role to play and especially in pulling us together with events for the whole community and affording support to those in need of it. I therefore put myself forward to serve the Association for a further year in the hope that there is opportunity, but most importantly to continue our efforts with this inspiring group of people.

Robert Haxton – Vice Chair

I joined the Graven Hill Residents Association (GHRA) in Dec 2022 (co-opted) once I realised not all the positions of the committee had been filled that year. I felt very strongly that our community had benefited from the spirit and efforts of all those that had gone before and that it was important not to lose that momentum and ask too much from too few.

Subsequently, I truly believe the GHRA evolved and is now more significant and relevant than ever. Stephen Aggett (Chair) and my fellow committee volunteers deserve great credit for that and all that they have contributed and sacrificed in the process. That is not to say we haven’t made mistakes… and life on the committee can feel like you are hanging on by your fingernails at times!

On the back of that however, I believe I now have a better appreciation of the challenges ahead and the ways in which we, as a committee, can improve. Within an expanded and rejuvenated team, I will strive as Vice-Chair to continue to strengthen the GHRA whilst supporting my fellow volunteers every step of the way.

Jitinder Hari

I am a self builder on East Circular Road and already been living here for 2 years! I enjoy living in the neighbourhood and feel that I get on with all those around me and can give a structured and new perspective to the community for all of our benefits.

Sam Omatoyo – Treasurer

Hello neighbours!

I am Sam, your incumbent treasurer.

Our Residents’ Association is doing a great job, and I’d be delighted to continue serving as your Treasurer. Together, we can keep building this community into something truly amazing and have some fun too!

Cathy Scarrott

I have lived on Graven Hill for five years and eight months now and am extremely proud to be able to call it my home. I am thankful to have ended up here following a Housing Application to be rehomed. I am a Bromford Housing Association resident.

I am 48 years old and probably tick a couple of diverse boxes. I have multiple medical conditions that leave me with physical disabilities as well as having a 20 year old with multiple complex needs and mental health conditions, which is where my passion for helping those in a similar position stems from.

I have thought about putting my name forward for a while but haven’t done due to the instability of some of my conditions. However, things are well-managed at present and so I figured, if not now, when?

I am a huge animal lover with six cats. I have extensive administrative skills although they are probably approximately eight years out of date. I am a keen baker and also crochet blankets for some mental time out.

The Graven Hill Buy/Sell/Free Group is a group that I created not long after moving here and is starting to thrive.