30 Dec 2024
Roger Thomas, who has served Highfield Park Trust for nearly 30 years, has become the last of the original trustees to step down..
In the 1990s, Roger was head of land based industries at Oaklands College when thoughts of creating a new, charity-managed, rural park for St. Albans were first discussed.
Hill End and Cell Barnes hospitals were to shut and the whole area was to be redeveloped for housing. Highfield Park was to become a welcoming greenspace amongst the 800 or so new homes.
John Ely, the trust’s first park director, was approached by then Cllr Sheila Burton to take the process forward. John was already undertaking a similar project in Shenley and his efforts had not gone unnoticed there.
Despite John’s growing reputation, this was still an innovative and bold step by the district council – and success was not guaranteed.
John immediately looked for local partners to support the process and of course Oaklands was an obvious choice. Roger therefore became an instrumental part of the park’s history and worked with John and others to create the Trust in 1996.
During the next few years, the Highfield area was developed and the foundations of the park were laid. Roger became chair of the Trust in 2003 and served in that position until 2017.
Roll-on to 2024 and Highfield Park is an increasingly popular destination and the Trust is going from strength to strength, despite many challenges along the way.
Roger’s last outing in Trust colours was at Apple Day in October – as featured in the St Albans Times.
Current chair Tim Abbott said: “Quite simply, Highfield Park Trust would not be where it is today without Roger’s outstanding contribution over all these years.
“Highfield and indeed St Albans owes him a huge debt of gratitude.
“Roger has been an inspiration to many of us over the years and I’m sure he will still be a visible presence around the park in the future.”
