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The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) has said it is “devastated” by the death of its former Scotland director, Alan Ferguson.
Mr Ferguson, who led the membership body’s Scotland division for 21 years, has died aged 64, after being diagnosed with cancer earlier this year.
In a statement issued via Twitter, CIH Scotland said: “Everyone at CIH is devastated to hear about the death of our former Scotland director, Alan Ferguson.
“We will put a fuller statement shortly but in the meantime all our thoughts are with his wife Jenny, his family and his friends at this very sad time.”
Mr Ferguson stepped down from his role at CIH Scotland in August 2014, having joined the organisation in 1993.
He later became director of SHARE, a training and development provider for housing associations in Scotland, where he worked for six years until his death.
A SHARE press release said Mr Ferguson “was instrumental in turning the organisation around and building the current team”.
It added: “Alan was always available to lend a hand or offer support when needed.
“He was a kind and thoughtful man, a great leader and colleague, and he could always lighten the mood with his great sense of humour.
“Alan had a vast network of friends and colleagues and was well liked and respected throughout the sector, with many having lots of stories about him personally and his career.”
Mr Ferguson began his long housing career as a community worker in Glasgow, Cambuslang and Wishaw for Strathclyde Regional Council.
In an online blog post about his career, he wrote: “My work with tenants, and my first-hand experience of poor quality housing and poor service delivery drove me to look for other opportunities in the sector.”
He went on to become a policy officer at the Institute of Housing Scotland – now CIH Scotland – before lecturing in housing at Stirling University.
Mr Ferguson was also a founding member of TPAS Scotland and had been a member of the boards of housing associations Link, Cube and Southside, as well as Govanhill Community Development Trust.
The founding chief executive of HouseMark, Ross Fraser, tweeted: “He gave his life to campaigning for social housing and had true empathy with tenants.
“As a colleague he was gifted, kind and unreliable in equal measure. As a man, he was a real sweetheart.”
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