‘Unflappable’ head of Homes and Communities Agency sets out vision

It’s a date that can’t come soon enough for many working in housing and regeneration.

Sir Bob’s arrival is eagerly awaited not only because he will bring clarity over the role of the agency being formed from EP and the Housing Corporation, but also because Sheffield council’s chief executive is universally liked and respected. Alison Nimmo, who was Sheffield One regeneration agency chief executive before moving to the Olympic Delivery Authority, summed up what Kerslake brings to the job: “Behind Sir Bob’s charming and unflappable exterior lies an immensely capable and intellectual individual. His track record speaks for itself – most notably in driving Sheffield’s dramatic turnaround.”

Not surprising then that Kerslake has a game plan for the spring. Speaking exclusively to Regenerate, he said: “The first thing to do is set up the structure and vision of the new agency. The main thing is, it wants to be new, not an amalgamation of the two existing bodies. For me, there has to be a very clear purpose and ways of working our vision.”

Kerslake will be the HCA’s first chief executive when it officially comes into being next year but his hand-picked team is already laying the ground rules for the organisation, which will take on the functions of EP, the Housing Corporation, plus the delivery functions of the Department for Communities and Local Government. He said: “We have established a great set-up team to get going, which is headed up by Trevor Beattie and also includes Margaret Allen looking at investment and development and Ros Dunn on policy.”

English Partnerships’ Beattie narrowly missed out on the chief executive’s job himself. Accountant Allen comes from the Housing Corporation, where she was a regional field director. Dunn is a government insider, having worked in both CLG and the Treasury.

Still, setting up the new agency is an immense challenge, and one that takes Kerslake from managing a £525m annual budget at England’s fourth largest city to the £4.7bn budget of HCA. Nimmo recognised the scale of the task: “There is no doubt that he will need all his political skills, leadership and steely resolve in his new job, but Bob relishes a challenge and he’s definitely the man for this job.”

Having taken on the Sheffield job at a time when the city was still in debt from the 1991 World Student Games, Kerslake is only too aware that tough times can bring tough decisions. Clive Wilding, director of developer Raven Group, who has worked extensively in Sheffield, said: “He is one of the few guys I have worked with in regeneration in difficult times who understands different agendas and how to bring things together. His first interest was always the community.”

That interest came through when Kerslake told Regenerate about his vision for the agency: “It’s about being the best possible delivery partner for government. Matching national targets with local ambition and bringing together the best strengths of both. It will be a single point of call for all items on the agenda: new homes, decent homes, regeneration of neighbourhoods, affordable homes and much more. The key to its success is that it covers a wide range of activities, but that it is not multi-departmental. … We will develop a new approach to innovation, delivery and development tools, as well as a very strong knowledge of the market.”