The people behind the hub

The hub

The hub team are responsible for the day to day running of the hub. They are your first port of call for any questions you may have about community led housing. The team can give advice, organise events and workshops, provide resources and much more.

 

Angela Walmsley

Role: Community Led Housing Hub Manager

Email: angela.walmsley@communityfirstyorkshire.org.uk or clh@communityfirstyorkshire.org.uk

Tel: 01904 704177

Bio: Angela has many years of cross sector experience working for housing associations, charities, private sector organisations and as the director of her own business.

She is skilled in housing management, business development, as well as stakeholder and community engagement. She is a PRINCE2 practitioner and has completed the Community Led Housing Accredited Advisor course.

“I am passionate about empowering individuals to develop and share their skills and assets so that, collectively, we can create sustainable, thriving communities. My professional interests and experience lie in housing and community engagement. Co-managing the hub allows me to enable communities to fulfil their potential whilst fulfilling my ambition to increase accessibility to secure, safe and affordable homes to those living in the region.”

Sarah Hart

Role: Group Development Lead

Email: sarah.hart@communityfirstyorkshire.org.uk or clh@communityfirstyorkshire.org.uk

Tel: 01904 704177

Bio: Sarah has a wide range of housing and development experience from across both private and not-for profit organisations around the world; from business development, social investment and consultancy, over the last 20 years.

She was first involved in community led housing in Florida when she volunteered for Habitat for Humanity and Sarasota Community Trust.

Since returning back to the UK she wanted to find solutions to the UK housing crisis and the impact that had on people and the economy. Sarah is the Co-Founder and Current Chairperson of Harrogate CLT. She is passionate about the power communities can have to create a more equitable land and housing system.

She strongly believes that community led housing has huge potential to help communities create places that work for them.

The hub steering group

Our steering group meets once a month to discuss and further the strategic direction of the hub. It consists of community members and professionals who have experience of providing housing and community within our region, and who want to see more community led housing within North Yorkshire and East Riding. Find out more about each member and their experiences below.

Martin Booth

Role: Chair of the steering group and secretary of Hudswell Community Charity which owns and manages six units of social housing.

Email: martintbooth@hotmail.com

Bio: Martin has worked for local authority housing departments (Middlesbrough), housing associations, (Banks of the Wear and Tees Valley Housing Group) and, as Assistant Director of Hartlepool New Deal for Communities, was involved in the development of a housing programme to purchase and demolish or modernise older housing and provide new homes. The latter was a community led project with local residents working alongside housing professionals to determine the policy and manage the process of housing renewal in central Hartlepool.

In a voluntary capacity, he is the secretary of Hudswell Community Charity, a post he has held of the past eight years. The Charity owns six homes in Hudswell that are let to people with average or below average incomes, who also have a strong local connection. Three of these are new properties that were built in 2017. In 2019, he joined the Rural Commission, established by North Yorkshire County Council to advise them and other relevant authorities on rural policy. Housing provision has been a central theme of our work and community led housing features in our recommendations.

Rima Berry

Role: voluntary and community sector representative.

Programmes Co-ordinator working for Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust (YDMT)

Email: rima.berry@ydmt.org

Bio: Rima develops strategic opportunities, partnerships and models for potential rural and community development work, including community led housing. She manages projects within the YDMT charity arm and delivers commercial consultancy within the YDMT trading arm.

Rima has a keen interest in environmental and sustainability strategy, and equality in housing is a specific personal passion.

She has been an Accredited Community Led Housing Advisor since February 2020 and took the lead on a 12 month pilot project for one-to-one support for community led housing in Craven district. She received the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship award in 2019 to research the rural landscape scale of community land trust models in the US.

Iain Campbell

Role: Secretary for Tickton Community Homes and a board member for Arches Housing in Sheffield

Email: campbev2013@gmail.com

Bio: Iain became a member of a Housing Co-operative in Liverpool in 1974, moving on to work for Neighbourhood Housing Services, a Secondary Housing Co-operative from 1977 to 1986 in a variety of roles including Housing Management, Development, and Co-operative Development and support.

From 1986 to 2000 Iain was Secretary and General Manager at St Andrew Housing Co-operative in Beverley, overseeing the completion of their new build and sheltered properties and integrating new members into the Co-operative.

From 1992 to date he has been a Board Member at Arches Housing in Sheffield, a small to medium sized Registered Provider, serving as Chair for 6 years and Chair of HR and Governance for a similar period. Iain chaired the organization during a period of considerable change, when the Association became a BME organization reflecting the profile of its tenants.

From 2000 to 2002 Iain was a self-employed consultant advising on Stock Condition Surveys and general Housing Management and from 1992 to 2000 he was a voluntary Board Member of Harbour Farm Housing, a tenant initiative arising out of the North Hull Housing Action Trust. From 2008 to 2011 he was employed by Hull City Council as a Housing Governance Officer working to increase the voice of tenants through Area Housing Boards. Iain also undertook general Community Development duties.

Finally, for the last 12 months, Iain has been involved in the promotion of a Community Led Housing initiative within his own parish.

Jane Colthup

Role: Chief Executive of Community First Yorkshire

Email: jane.colthup@communityfirstyorkshire.org.uk

Bio: During Jane’s time as a management consultant, she spent time working with a number of local authorities and housing associations in the housing arena. The majority of this work was focused around contract management, repairs services, tenant forums and the associated IT software packages used to support a LA run housing service, arm’s length management organisation or housing association.

Closely allied to this, Jane’s management consultancy experience also involved working in the revenues and benefits areas of local authorities, much of which revolves around housing benefits.

David Siddle

Role: Rural Housing Enabler for East Riding

Bio: David is the Rural Housing Enabler (RHE) for the East Riding of Yorkshire; one of a small team of RHE’s that serve North Yorkshire and the East Riding.  His role is to promote affordable housing in smaller rural communities where there are unmet needs and to make links to community led housing opportunities where appropriate.

He has worked in housing management and development  for housing associations and other public sector bodies, initially in London for 5 years and subsequently in Hull, for Places for People and the North Hull Housing Action Trust. After a brief spell in North Lincolnshire he moved to work for the Community Housing Task Force in 2001 and then Government Office for the North East. His final role was as a Housing Strategy Manager for Durham County Council before becoming a Rural Housing Enabler.

David recognises the pivotal role that communities can play in creating homes that respond to the needs of the local area and is keen to see community led housing be given a more opportunities to make a positive impact in the housing market.

Jane Owen

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Jane Cotton

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Fiona Coleman

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Clive Pearson

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