RBH Chairwoman Gill Walch standing down

Date published: 28 February 2008

Gill Walch, the Chairwoman of the Board of Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH), announced today (Thursday 28 February) that she will be stepping down from the Board next month.

Ms Walch says her decision is due to a forthcoming move from Rochdale to Scotland in order to be closer to other members of her family.

Ms Walch has been one of the six tenants on Rochdale Boroughwide Housing’s Board since August 2004 and has been the organisation’s Chairwoman since September 2006.

Gareth Swarbrick, RBH’s Acting Managing Director, said: "Gill has devoted lots of time and energy to her role as Chair over the last two years.  She took over at a time when our future was uncertain but leaves us with a ten year agreement with the Council and advanced plans to build new affordable rented homes to meet local housing needs.  She will be really missed."

Ms Walch said: "A lot of my close family live in Scotland and an opportunity has arisen to move closer to them.  It is too good an opportunity to turn down.

"It will be hard to leave Rochdale and to say goodbye to my many friends.  I am especially sad to step down from RBH’s Board at a time when the organisation has a very exciting future with well advanced plans to build new homes, improve neighbourhoods and deliver a range of service improvements for tenants.  I would like to thank my fellow Board members and all RBH’s staff for their help, support and hard work.  I wish them all well for the future."

Ms Walch has been embroiled in the failure, at the ssecond attempt, to recruit a new RBH Chief Executive and was at the centre of allegations that form part of the long delayed Audit Commission report into the debacle. However, Ms Walch was cleared in December 2007 by an internal RBH discpinary panel of any wrongdoing according to the RBH Code of Conduct.

RBH manages 14,000 homes on behalf of Rochdale Council.  In 2007 82.5% of tenants said that they were either satisfied or very satisfied with the services they received from RBH – the highest ever satisfaction rating received by the borough’s local authority housing service.

RBH’s Board will elect a new Chair in due course.