Marleigh & Me
My name is Hilary Bannerman and I began working at the new community of Marleigh, in Cambridge, in December 2021.
I left a 24-year professional career to join the Land Trust, a charity based near where I grew up, in Warrington, Cheshire. My job title was Estate and Facilities Officer.
My responsibilities included managing the community centre and overseeing the maintenance and animation of the outdoor spaces. I carried out these duties to an award-winning standard, committed to supporting a community designed to help people thrive in nature. The role suited me well, and for two years I was genuinely happy and deeply connected to the community.
I worked alone at Marleigh as the on-site representative of the Land Trust's client, the Marleigh Estate Management Company (MEMCL) MEMCL is overseen by senior executives from the housebuilder Hill and the landowner Marshall.
However, over time, issues began to mount. As I worked to resolve them, it became clear that although roles and responsibilities were clearly defined in the contract, my employer had not fully understood or implemented them, leading to an increasingly dissatisfied client and heightened concerns about the safety and effectiveness of site operations for both me and the community.
Losing all connection to Marleigh has been incredibly painful, but stepping away has been necessary for the community to move on.
Seeking accountability has come at a significant personal cost.
Before I arrived in Marleigh my health was excellent. However, a year before the water contamination incident, my health declined sharply after I caught a particularly pernicious strain of Covid while working at Marleigh in the run-up to Christmas 2022. Throughout 2023, post-viral fatigue floored me, but I remained positive and continued working.
Long Covid investigations led my GP to refer me for an ADHD assessment, during which the assessor also suggested I might be autistic. I recognised traits consistent with high functioning low support needs autism, including heightened awareness of risk, strong empathy, an ability to spot irregularities, and a deep commitment to social and environmental justice and due process, but did not feel the need to seek a formal diagnosis.
I was formally diagnosed with ADHD in June 2023. Medication reduced my fatigue and, once I had a stable supply by Christmas 2023, my energy returned and I felt well again. Sadly, my run of good health lasted only the first three weeks of January 2024.
On 18 January 2024, I found myself single-handedly coordinating a week-long humanitarian response to a water contamination incident affecting around 1,000 people. Afterwards, exhausted and traumatised, I asked that lessons be learned, but my concerns were ignored. I was left unable to move forward, still trying to understand what had happened, and that remains the case today.
During half-term in February 2024, on the first day of a week’s leave, I was called into work to meet with my senior manager and was told to go home indefinitely. In March, I was formally suspended. After my suspension, the Land Trust sought confirmation of my medical issues and funded an assessment and I received a diagnosis of ASD in May 2024. In July, I was dismissed for three counts of gross misconduct which I dispute.
I have been unable to work since and have been forced to seek legal redress.
The multi-layered trauma and distress have had a profoundly damaging impact on my health:
- My symptoms flare when I am emotionally distressed. In September 2024, two days before representing myself at the first Employment Tribunal hearing, I attended A&E with shortness of breath. However, because my vital signs appeared normal, I was informed that my symptoms were likely anxiety-related.
- In February 2025, I underwent a total hysterectomy, which, unexpectedly, brought a noticeable improvement in my breathing.
- In July 2025, a third MRI identified a lesion in my upper right lung. Thankfully, all blood tests were clear and further scans confirmed that I did not have aggressive cancer anywhere. I was told that the lung lesion was likely indolent adenocarcinoma or pulmonary adenomyosis.
- In October 2025, additional lesions were discovered elsewhere, including on my thyroid.
- In November 2025, I underwent major surgery to remove part of my lung.