Board Members

Skills:  Housing, Regeneration, Executive management

John is currently Chief Executive of Blackpool Coastal Housing (BCH) responsible for 5000 properties and a wide range of support services.  Prior to joining BCH John was the Council’s lead director for the built environment and regeneration and has over 20 years senior regeneration experience. Outside of work, he enjoys playing a very slow version of football, running and walking.  John also volunteers with a local environmental charity, sits as a Trustee on a youth homelessness charity and on the board of the local credit union.

John is committed to the principle that good quality, affordable and secure housing is a vital building block to allow individuals and families to thrive.

Skills: Housing, Income Management and Customer Service

After leaving grammar school, Claire became a parent at the age of eighteen. She enjoyed a brief spell working in the aviation industry before joining Manchester City Council as a Council Tax Officer for four years.

Claire discovered her passion for all things social housing after joining City West Housing Trust (CWHT), now known as For Housing who are part of the Forviva Group, as an Income Officer in 2013. Claire has worked hard to develop her housing career over a six year period, successfully moving into management after working in the sector for two years.

She has worked at various different organisations during this time which has broadened her skills, knowledge and outlook. After leaving CWHT, Claire joined the Guinness Partnership (TGP) as a team manager where she led through a period of organisational change, helping to shape the newly formed national Customer Accounts Team.

Claire re joined Manchester City Council and currently heads up Council Tax administration and collection across South Manchester. Claire is part of the Revenues and Benefits senior management team, and is involved in the making of key strategic decisions and policy making.

Claire was delighted to be offered a place on the board and is looking forward to once again being involved in the housing sector and having the opportunity to have a positive impact on people’s lives
Having married her childhood sweetheart, Claire is now mother to two teenagers. She enjoys keeping fit as well as spending time with family, friends and her dog Alan; though her husband defines her hobby as “work”!

Skills: Finance, Business Management

Tom, a qualified accountant, enjoyed a career spanning 44 years in the public sector working at Wirral Council. This included over 15 years involvement with housing finance before taking up a senior finance position until he retired at the end of 2017.

Born on the Wirral, Tom has always enjoyed the many things on offer in the area. He was recently appointed as a Trustee for the Tam O’Shanter Cottage Farm Trust. Rekindling his links with housing Tom joined the Association’s Board in 2019.

Married with two children Tom spends time gardening, walking and eating. He is a keen local football historian, who was involved with New Brighton F.C. for many years, and continues to support the West Cheshire League.

Skills: HR, Management, Finance, Community Support.

For the past twenty years, Sandra has worked as Chair of Governors at two local schools, leading and supporting the Governing Body, Headteachers and staff. In 2007 she was awarded an MBE for Services to Education. She has also worked with local charities to empower people and to help anyone struggling against unequal odds.
In earlier years she worked within Adult Basic Education with Hamilton Square Adult Literacy Centre which gave her insight in to the life struggles that many people experience and worked to enable people to engage with modern life and gain the skills they needed to thrive.

She likes to spend my spare time with my family and also gardening, walking and enjoying the local area.

Skills: Housing Management, Supported Housing, Repairs and Maintenance and Asset Management.

Maggie has worked in social housing for many years and with several employers. She began her career at Preston Council moving onto North British Housing Association (now Places for People) and later taking a role at West Lancashire District Council. She then moved to managing agent, Anchor Trust, working on the Liverpool Housing Action Trust contract for almost 7 years, before eventually moving to Blackpool where she has spent the majority of her career.

Since 2015 Maggie has been employed as Director of Operations for BCH and has overall responsibility for the housing management, supported housing and repairs and maintenance services and asset management.

She has previously been the chairman of the Blackpool Home Start service, which provides support for families with children under 5 years of age, many of whom were customers of BCH and was a non-executive director of Generation Rent, a small but national organisation that campaigns to improve the rights of private sector tenants and whose influence was recognised in the 2015 general election and London Mayoral election in 2016.

Skills: Housing Development, Sustaining Growth

Kerry has over 25 years of residential property experience with a social purpose. As Director and Founder of K&Co Homes, she provides professional consultancy services to the housing industry, assisting contractors and developers to drive forward their ambitious housing growth plans. Over recent years she has become experienced member of senior leadership teams ensuring that the strategic vision, values and culture is embedded into all organisations.
Kerry is a busy working Mum with two boys so spends a lot of weekends on the side of a football or rugby pitch. She enjoys keeping fit and getting out running when she can.

Originally from the Wirral, growing up in Bebington, she is delighted to be back working on the Wirral.

Skills: Property development, Housing and Executive Leadership

Craig currently works as the Executive Director of Development for a North Wales based housing association, ClwydAlyn, and has spent the last 30 years securing land and delivering affordable homes across the region. He is the Chair of the Strategic Delivery Group for Future Homes in Wales and has worked closely with Government to help deliver the housing programme. Craig has been responsible for a large number of general housing projects but also specialist schemes for older people, supported accommodation, autism, dementia and more recently, low carbon development.

Craig lives in North Wales and has two daughters, enjoys power boating, amateur archaeology and traveling.