Letchworth Heritage Foundation has appointed Pam Burn as its first female chair of the board, replacing Colin Chatfield,

Pam has worked as a governor for the Foundation since 2016, chairing its grants committee and working on a project to identify the key issues affecting families and young people in Letchworth.

She said: “The families and young people’s project revealed a side of Letchworth that I never knew existed.

“The findings were published in our booklet, A View of Life in Letchworth Today, two statistics stood out for me, but there were many others.

“One in four children in Letchworth are locked in poverty, and only 52.9 per cent of Letchworth children are developing well at age five compared to Hertfordshire’s average of 65.9 per cent.

“I wondered how can this be in our green and leafy town? And what could the foundation do to help improve things for everyone in the town?

“I hope that over the period of my chairmanship we will be able to facilitate the partnerships I believe will become increasingly necessary and will enable us to help to deliver better services, homes and transport for all our residents.

“It’s a big ask and we can’t do everything, but we shall certainly try. “At the same time we will seek to ensure the foundation carries out its duties and maintains a proper business-like approach to all of our commercial activities. I should like to thank Colin for his sterling work as chair over such a long period. He leaves the foundation in good shape.”

Handing over to Pam, Colin Chatfield commented: “I’ve really enjoyed my time as chairman and am proud of what we have achieved during my time in the role.

“I oversaw a number of transformative projects for the Foundation, including the redevelopment of the Broadway Cinema and Theatre and Studio and Gallery venues.

“I wish Pam the best of luck in the future and will continue to support the Foundation from my role as a governor.”

Chief Executive of the Heritage Foundation Graham Fisher added: “Colin has played a huge part in the Foundation’s work in recent years and on behalf of the Foundation, I’d like to thank him for his service to the Letchworth community.”

To find out more about the foundation’s governors or governance model, visit letchworth.com/who-we-are/governance.