HCA undergoes senior management shake-up

The Homes and Communities Agency is to streamline its senior management team following the latest in a series of high-profile departures at the agency, and pressure from the new government to cut costs.

John Lewis, who was promoted recently to the post of acting director of new ventures and partnerships following the departure of deputy chief executive Eamonn Boylan in January, is to leave the organisation to run Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation.

Gill Taylor, the agency’s director of skills and knowledge, announced she was to leave in April. None of the three departing directors will be directly replaced under the restructuring.

The HCA will now be split in to three divisions: housing growth and affordability; placemaking; and finance.

Housing growth and affordability, which includes the administration of the social housing development programme, will be run by former Housing Corporation director Richard Hill.

Placemaking, including property, regeneration, the Thames Gateway and Milton Keynes Partnership, will be run by Trevor Beattie.

Richard Ennis will continue as director finance. The changes mean seven corporate director posts will effectively be reduced to three, with one vacant post, that of director of land and development, also being deleted.

However, one additional new post has been created of head of strategy to advise chief executive Sir Bob Kerslake on policy. Stephen Muers will take this role. All changes will take place in June.

Before the election new housing minister Grant Shapps was highly critical of what he described as “waste” within the agency, and made repeated references to its “excessive” £4.5m monthly salary bill.