You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
New Gallions board announced after formal merger with Peabody
Gallions Housing Association has formally joined the Peabody Group and a new board has been appointed for the troubled landlord.
The merger took place on Friday last week and it means Peabody now owns and manages around 27,000 homes across London.
The new chair of Gallions is David Avery, who currently chairs Saxon Weald Housing Association. Other board members include Paul Hackett, CEO of AmicusHorizon; Malcolm Levi, current Peabody member and chair of the audit and risk committee; David Lavarack, Peabody executive director of corporate services; and Susan Hickey, Peabody executive director of finance.
There are currently two resident board members who will step down in mid-January and Gallions will recruit for these appointments ‘as soon as possible’.
Gallions’ Thamesmead development is a key focus in the announcement from Christopher Strickland, Peabody chair, after a protest from the residents group outside Gallions headquarters in December. He announced that later in 2014, Trust Thamesmead will also join the Peabody Group, ‘bringing together housing and community into a single, well-resourced organisation in the area for the first time in a generation.’
Christopher Strickland, Peabody chair, said: ‘Peabody has appointed an experienced new Gallions board and we are looking forward to proceeding with our ambitious plans for the regeneration of Thamesmead.’
‘This is a long-term commitment to improve existing services, strengthen relationships with residents, and deliver thousands of new homes and jobs in the area.’
He added: ‘We know there will be challenges ahead, but we aim to bring our mission to Gallions’ residents and the wider community. That means ensuring as many people as possible have a good home, a real sense of purpose and a strong feeling of belonging. This is the driving force behind everything we do.’
Mr Avery said: ‘This is a new start for Gallions. There is no doubt this has been a challenging time for the organisation. The immediate focus of the new board will be to look at all of the issues facing homeowners and tenants, and to ensure that residents are happy with the quality of services we provide. We are actively following up on the recommendations of the independent review commissioned by the previous board.’
Inside Housing broke the story in October about Gallions being the first landlord to breach the social housing regulator’s ‘serious detriment’ threshold for consumer complaints and also for signing off the lump sum for the retirement package of former chief executive Tony Cotter.
