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An ALMO rocked by health and safety issues has hired a new acting chief executive a month after the previous boss left the organisation.
Vivien Knibbs, who has previously held director roles at Cornwall Housing, Orbit Group and Connexus Housing Group, has been appointed as acting chief executive of East Kent Housing (EKH) with immediate effect.
This follows an announcement last month that EKH’s previous chief executive, Deborah Upton, would be stepping down from her role amid the controversy surrounding the organisation’s health and safety record.
EKH, which manages 17,000 homes on behalf of Canterbury, Dover, Thanet and Folkestone & Hythe councils, has been in the spotlight since June last year when it was revealed that the ALMO had failed to carry out hundreds of gas safety checks on time.
In September, the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) declared that the four councils that employ EKH had failed to meet the Home Standard because of a series of safety issues found within the ALMO-managed homes.
EKH is now set for closure and all four Kent councils have announced their intention to take their housing services back in house.
Ms Knibbs’ appointment was confirmed by the board of EKH, which is now comprised of the chief executives of the four councils after the previous board was sacked in December.
She said: “I am looking forward to continuing to work with the dedicated and hardworking staff team at EKH which has shown real resilience during a very difficult time.
“Looking after our tenants is at the heart of what EKH is about so my focus will be on continuing to make rapid progress on the health and safety compliance issues, as well as working closely with the EKH board and the four councils.”