Places for People backs down on board cull

Plans to remove almost half the board of England's largest housing association have been dropped at the last minute in an apparent attempt to avoid Housing Corporation intervention.

The bitter row has split the board of the Places for People Group and claimed the scalp of its longstanding chairman, Sebert Cox. He has agreed to step down as chairman next year.

Despite the partial turnaround, the group, which owns almost 50,000 properties across the UK, could still face corporation scrutiny and further turmoil.

Alec Burford and Judith Harris-Jones, two of the five independent board members originally threatened with removal were voted off at the group's annual general meeting on Wednesday, and at least one other has threatened to resign.

The row erupted earlier this summer when the five called for a shake-up in the group's governance, following complaints that decisions were being railroaded through the board without consultation.

Of the remaining three, Guardian journalist David Walker has said he will resign; restaurateur Prue Leith and chartered accountant Donald Main are understood to be considering whether to stay.

If all resign, corporation intervention is a possibility.

Walker said: "The bottom line is that they have got rid of two members who opposed the board's dominant line. Nobody came up with any substantive criticism of them. They raised the issues of chairmanship and governance and were shafted.

"The Housing Corporation should seek to get a corporation person on the board. Should the chairs of RSLs be in the pockets of those who manage them?"

Speaking minutes after the annual meeting finished, Cox said he wanted to "work towards healing the wounds that last few months have opened up and to focus on the group's core work".

Cox added that the original motion to remove the five independents was dropped because "it was felt that this was not he best way to resolve the governance issues raised". He said the voting down of Burford and Harris-Jones was not the result of a vendetta against those who had opposed him. Garry Watson, a board member at Edinvar housing association, and Cedric Dennis, director of business properties at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, will replace the pair.

A Housing Corporation spokeswoman said: "We have not yet had the full report from the AGM, and we will be considering our options once we receive it."