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Plus Dane Housing chief steps down to ‘concentrate on health’
The chief executive of North West housing association Plus Dane Housing has stepped down from her role to “concentrate on her health”.
Barbara Spicer announced on Twitter yesterday that she would be retiring from her role at the helm of the 13,500-home landlord after six years.
Ms Spicer underwent major leg surgery in mid-January and said that while the surgery was successful, it was still taking her a long time to recover and her bones were continuing to give her issues.
She wrote: “So with that in mind, I have taken the very difficult decision to finish full-time work and concentrate on my health.”
Before her time at Plus Dane Housing, she was interim chief executive of the Skills Funding Agency between November 2013 and 2014 and spent eight years as chief executive of Salford City Council.
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During her time at Plus Dane Housing, which owns homes across Merseyside and Cheshire, she turned around the organisation, joining the group in 2014 after it had received a governance rating downgrade for weak financial management. The then Homes and Communities Agency raised concerns about the organisation’s growth plans and the performance of its subsidiaries. In 2018, the association received top regulatory rating for governance and viability.
In a statement on her social media page, Ms Spicer said: “I am retiring at a time of such turmoil and unrest across the whole world, a time when I fear that the poor will get poorer and the maligned more so. I am sure you will continue to hear my voice raised about these issues and I will look forward to hearing yours.”
Sir Peter Fahy, chair of the board at Plus Dane Housing, said: “Barbara started her career in the housing department at Knowsley Council and her passion for social housing and social justice has never dimmed.
“She is an incredible strategic leader with huge dedication and commitment to our tenants and to our staff. Barbara has always had the ability to engage and at the same time the courage to make difficult decisions to drive change and improvement.
“She has been an absolute pleasure to work with – always caring, always totally professional and with a great sense of humour.
“We wish her well and know she has so much more to offer in whatever she chooses to do next.”
