Changing outlook

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How and why did you get involved with the social housing sector?

As a young chartered surveyor I was doing loads of Right to Buy valuations and sites for new homes in the early 1980s, then switched to housing estate management due to a council reorganisation.

I found that I was involved in both ends of helping to provide affordable homes and it was a wonderful feeling to be handing over the keys of a new home to people in need.

What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced while working in social housing?

The recession of the late 1980s, cessation of council housebuilding and lack of resources for modernisation were the biggest challenges.

But they presented a fantastic opportunity because they led to the birth of the large-scale voluntary transfer movement and our conversion to the housing association sector with access to private finance.

And we’ve never looked back - in fact, in my experience there’s always an opportunity lurking behind every challenge.

What has been the greatest achievement of your housing career?

My proudest moment was the phone call I received from the Audit Commission to say Rooftop had been awarded three stars and excellent prospects for improvement.

But that wasn’t actually my achievement, it was testament to the fantastic colleagues I had around me working with our customers and the board.

I can claim a hand in helping to deliver more than 2,500 new homes, but our first ExtraCare village was probably the development I will remember with most satisfaction for the difference it has made to the quality and lifestyle of residents. Yates Court opened in 1999 to provide much-needed extra care accommodation for older people.

Helping older people to remain living independently in the community was one of the key objectives for the stock transfer and I was delighted when we were able to double the number of apartments at Yates Court last year. Strictly Come Dancing stars Anton du Beke and Erin Boag cut the ribbon and wowed residents and guests with their charm.

We also opened two more extra care schemes last year: Dora Matthews House in the Forest of Dean and Dorothy Terry House in Redditch.

What would you say are the most significant issues facing the sector today?

By far and away the biggest issue is the national housing shortage. And I’m sorry to say that even if we all did absolutely everything in our power to tackle this we will still be handling a housing crisis for at least the next 20 years because not enough is being done to increase housing supply for all tenures.

The abandonment of regional spatial planning six years ago was shameful and the adverse impact upon young people will have a profound effect upon our society for generations.

At the other end of the age spectrum the short-sighted economies in social care funding will leave many millions of older people struggling to cope with independent living in their later years and this is something that housing associations cannot ignore and leave for others to solve.

How can housing associations best adapt to the increasing pressures they face?

By remaining agile and being prepared to respond to every challenge with innovative solutions.

The world never stands still, so our job is to see each change as a fresh opportunity instead of yet another risk to be controlled.

Unfortunately, the swing of the regulation pendulum towards volunteer boards has taken a sector that was already more heavily controlled than the public sector to a place where the fear of downgrades could reduce our appetite to ‘give it a try’.

I believe it’s vital that the sector remains diverse with a complete cross section of organisations responding to the needs of customer groups and geography, closely bound to communities.

I’m tired of hearing people say that the business case for consolidation and merger is obvious when this flies in the face of our commitment to communities and evidence from the global sector accounts. Vive la difference!

Would you say it’s more challenging for housing associations now than at any point previously in your career? And if so, why?

No, it’s just different. And that’s good. As big property investment companies, the promise of the new freedom offers yet another opportunity to reinvent ourselves to meet the new challenges, but we should never forget that we are in the ‘not-for-profit’ housing sector.

Making profits and reinvesting them is not the same as aiming to deliver services at cost. The world does not understand massive surpluses and big balance sheets in the not-for-profit sector.

While some associations are really good at explaining how those surpluses are committed to reinvestment, there are many who simply appear to like the comfort of a safe buffer and they do need to be challenged.

How positive do you feel about the future of social housing in the UK?

I feel very excited and more than a little sad to be retiring from the sector at a time which feels as though we are on the edge of the next big thing.

Our priorities are still firmly focused upon local communities but our patch has grown well beyond Wychavon to include meeting affordable housing needs with other local councils in Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, and providing homes for key NHS staff as far afield as Somerset and Shropshire.

The sector has a fantastic delivery track record, despite the perceptions of some civil servants and politicians.

In my early career, government and society knew how to build new towns and communities and got on with the job.

We should try to avoid their mistakes but crack on with the job of getting more homes and communities built just by copying the determination of post-War political and community leaders to get things done.