Welcoming Kilnwood Vale’s new community mobiliser, Anna Grimshaw

Tuesday 23rd January 2018

New Community Mobiliser Joins PreimKilnwood Vale is a 2,500 home development in West Sussex that promises to be a thriving, empowered community as residents continue to make the garden village their home.

Preim has been working with developer Crest Nicholson for several months to both help engage residents in the Residents Management Company model and to manage green spaces and key amenities more effectively. Key to ensuring this work all runs smoothly is the role of the community mobiliser – a Preim employee who will work closely with us, whilst also helping to empower residents and engage the development’s steering group , local authorities and other key stakeholders.

Anna Grimshaw moved into her new Kilnwood Vale home in August 2017. After living in Epsom for many years previously, Anna and her partner wanted to find a place that was a little further out from London but still in a great location for work – Kilnwood Vale ticked all those boxes.

After settling in, Anna learnt that Preim was looking for a community mobiliser to help the company’s community support work at the Crest Nicholson development in Horsham.

Learning more about the community mobiliser role

Having attended Kilnwood Vale’s first resident’s event, an Autumn fun day in late September 2017, Anna was able to chat to Preim about the community mobiliser role. Since then, Anna has been on board and busy getting started. We took the opportunity to catch up with Anna about her role as community mobiliser:

“My partner and I really fell in love with our house at Kilnwood Vale. But it wasn’t just the property that appealed to us – you get a really warm feeling when you drive on to the development.

“The great thing about this role with Preim is that I have the opportunity to really get involved in what promises to be a really great community.”

Working closely with Kilnwood Vale’s steering group

Anna will be instrumental in supporting Kilnwood Vale’s steering group: a group of residents and stakeholders who help to establish focus for a new community, whilst also being a point of contact for each developer, their partners and Preim regarding communal amenities.

Anna explained further: “The steering group at Kilnwood Vale will be so important to how the community is shaped. I’ll be working to support them, providing agenda items, getting plans in place and much more.

“But the community mobiliser role isn’t at all restricted to just supporting the steering group. A big part of it is about community engagement – and I already have some exciting plans for the coming year.

“I had the opportunity to support Preim at a Christmas event recently with mulled wine, carols, mince pies and more. It was lovely to speak to more of my neighbours and get more of an idea about how I can support them in my capacity as community mobiliser.

“The event was a real success so I’m hoping to grow on that, get more residents involved and try gatherings like Easter egg hunts, fetes and more.

“The great thing about Kilnwood Vale is that we already have a great play area and green, open space for communal use – so I’m hoping to make the most of it and ensure residents are getting the best from the amenities.”

Bringing neighbours together

A qualified teacher and currently a senior animal technician at a further education college, Anna is well versed in working with a variety of people with different needs and demands. Her people skills make her perfectly placed as the development’s community mobiliser:

“Working in a college environment I’ve had to be really versatile and work with lots of different people. We often run events at the college and a get a real buzz from helping people work together and get great results.

“I’m a multi-tasker; I can turn my hand to lots of different tasks, so hopefully that will help me to support the community in many ways. I’m really looking forward to helping bring neighbours together and shape our new community.”

Facilitating communication between residents

Anna will also help to facilitate the communication between residents, whether that be with the community blog, via the Kilnwood Vale website or the forum: “I’m hoping to become a port of call for residents – either to help them myself or point them in the right direction. There are so many great resources and local businesses in and around Horsham too, so hopefully there will be the opportunity for residents to share these with each other.”

Learn more about some of the community and placekeeping initiatives running in Kilnwood Vale.

We’re delighted to have Anna on board with Preim at Kilnwood Vale and are excited to see how the community will continue to grow and develop. If you are a Kilnwood Vale resident and would like to get in touch with Anna, simply leave a message in the community forum.