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Welsh housing association appoints new chief executive
A Welsh housing association has appointed a new boss following the announcement of its current chief executive’s retirement early next month.
Welsh housing association @TaiCalon appoints new chief executive #ukhousingA Welsh housing association has appointed @Howard_Toplis as its new boss following the announcement of its current chief executive’s retirement early next month #ukhousingHoward Toplis will take over from Joe Logan at Tai Calon Community Housing following a short handover period.
Mr Toplis was formerly chief executive at Wiltshire-based GreenSquare, but was replaced by Ruth Cooke in February 2019 after the 11,000-home landlord was found to have breached regulatory standards on fire, gas and lift safety.
Mr Logan is set to retire following almost four years at Tai Calon, which is based in Blaenau Gwent in the South Wales valleys. Before that, he worked as chief executive at ALMO Poole Housing Partnership.
When Mr Logan joined Tai Calon 2016, the organisation was under regulatory supervision. In 2017, the organisation was taken out of supervision at the first opportunity after Mr Logan had taken the top job.
In 2018, the landlord was fined by the Health and Safety Executive for failing to protect its workers from hand-arm vibration syndrome. These issues pre-dated Mr Logan’s arrival and it was after he arrived that the hand-arm vibration issues were identified and correct procedures were put in place, which were subsequently accepted by the HSE.
The Welsh government’s latest regulatory judgement for the 6,000-home landlord found the organisation met requirements for both financial viability and governance.
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Mr Logan said: “I have really enjoyed working with the amazing communities of Blaenau Gwent.
“We have a great team at Tai Calon, rooted in the communities and determined to deliver the best possible services.
“Staff satisfaction is up and so is tenant and resident satisfaction. Performance is strong and costs are down. Well done to the whole team and best wishes for the future.”
Mr Toplis said: “Tai Calon has a refreshed and challenging corporate plan that focuses on improving services to tenants and residents, and making a difference to the communities within Blaenau Gwent.
“This is underpinned by the positive organisational culture, which makes it an exciting time for me to take over from Joe as the next chief executive.”
Update: at 17:36 01/05/2020
This article was amended to make it clear that Tai Calon had been placed under supervision before Mr Logan joined the association and was taken out of supervision at the first opportunity after he became chief executive. It also makes clear that the issues around hand-arm vibration, of which the association was fined for in 2018, pre-dated Mr Logan’s arrival and in fact the issues were discovered and rectified after Mr Logan joined the organisation.
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