WHAT’S HAPPENING ACROSS OUR REGION?

Linda spent most of her career working in housing-related local authority roles, including social housing lettings, housing capital improvement programmes and housing strategy and policy. In 2017 she took up a post managing Northumberland County Council’s £1.3m Community Housing Fund, during which time she became a Community Led Homes Accredited Advisor.

She retired in 2022 but remains passionate about housing and the positive difference good quality affordable housing can make to local people and communities.

Kate is Executive Director of Durham Community Action (DCA) and leads the team at DCA working closely with its Trustees and partners to ensure informed delivery across the full range of its services. DCA provide advice, support and assistance to volunteer led organisations and to various communities of interest leading on community action and is part of the ACRE network (Action with Communities in Rural England).

Kate brings valuable insight from a national, regional, and local perspective through participation in partnership boards and networks. Providing leadership and representing community interests into various thematic partnerships in County Durham and the region, she holds the role of Chair of the County Durham Rural Housing Advisory Board and works with senior managers of voluntary and community sector organisations in County Durham through the Better Together Forum.

Kate currently acts as an Innovation Associate with the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise, led by Newcastle University.

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Esther Salamon has worked in the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) for over thirty years. She has considerable experience developing and managing collaborative projects that address issues of social concern and create improvements with/for people and communities. Areas of expertise include developing multi/interdisciplinary arts projects, board/governance development, project and organisational development, fundraising and strategic planning/review.

She has been an adviser to several Trusts and Foundations and is currently a Trustee of the Elders Council of Newcastle, participating in several working groups, including: Housing & Social Care, Newcastle Age Friendly City, Care & Repair England (in the England-wide ‘Housing Champions’).

She is developing ‘Independent Creative Living’  – a housing initiative for primarily (but not exclusively) older artists and other creative people who wish to move into a smaller home, maintain their independence and creative production in a mutually supportive environment, while contributing their skills and knowledge to the vitality of a neighbourhood, community and region.

Bill Carr is an independent consultant specialising in housing and regeneration. He retired from the Homes & Communities Agency in 2017 following 10 years as Head of Area and Senior Area Manager in the North East. He has a special interest in community-led housing and is a national CLT Advisor.

Since December 2023 Vince has been Rural Housing Enabler working for Community Action Northumberland (CAN). He works closely with landowners, developers, parish councils, community land trusts, registered providers and county council’s planning and housing departments to promote and deliver affordable rural, and community led housing across Northumberland.

He has over 30 years housing development experience working for Homes England and registered providers across the North of England.  He previously worked for 20 years at Karbon Homes as a Development Manager till April 2023 delivering affordable homes including community led, supported housing, extra care, urban and rural housing across the Northeast.

Pete has spent nearly all his career working in the field of community-led housing and regeneration. He is the main author of a technical Toolkit for local authorities on community-led housing, published in March 2018. Pete is also a founding member and former chair of Stocksfield Community Association Trading Arm (SCATA), a not for profit trading company, operating as a Community Land Trust (CLT), which completed 7 new affordable homes for rent in 2015.

Pete has been a long-standing national CLT Advisor, specialising in support infrastructure across England, and is currently a Trustee and former chair of the Community Land Trust Network. Pete is also a Board member of his local community owned pub.

Yvonne is a community-focused leader based in Gateshead, bringing extensive experience in governance, strategic development, and community asset stewardship. She serves as Chair and Director of Communities CAN North East Ltd, supporting community-led housing initiatives across the region. Yvonne also contributes her expertise as Chair and Trustee of Birtley Community Aquatic Centre, where she plays a central role in strengthening local access to pool swimming.

Currently she is employed as the CEO of Tell Us North CIC and has extensive senior management experience in the VCSE sector. Yvonne has built a career defined by collaboration, transparency, and a commitment to empowering communities. Her work spans health, housing, and community development, underpinned by a strong belief in local voices shaping local solutions.

Tom was appointed  Communities CAN Coordinator in 2021- 2024 and is now a Director of the CIC. Well known to many in Northumberland, he is helping to deliver support for groups seeking to develop community-led housing across the North East.

Tom began his working life in the mining industry in the North East of England as an apprentice mechanic. In 1986 Tom moved to rural North Northumberland and worked in many different roles – a Youth Hostel Warden, nursery worker, cycle salesman, plumber.

A founder Trustee of Glendale Gateway Trust and active community volunteer, Tom became a paid member of staff for the Trust in the year 2000 and was their CEO for 21 years championing community enterprise and ownership projects including local housing, retail units, a community hub and a Youth Hostel.

Tom has overseen the acquisition and transfer of a number of key buildings within the market town of Wooler and raised the finance to enable their conversion and continued use as community assets.

Tom currently works as an administrator for a charitable Trust fund in North Northumberland and continues to indulge his passion for mechanical engineering. Tom can be contacted at tomnorth@hotmail.com

Since 2015, Andy has been Chief Executive at Community Action Northumberland (CAN), a charity working for communities across rural Northumberland as part of the ACRE network (Action with Communities in Rural England). Prior to this, Andy spent over 20 years working in local authority rural development specialising in economic regeneration, community development and housing.

Andy is an associate consultant at the Rural Services Network (RSN) and secretary to the Rural Housing Alliance – a national network of Housing Associations passionate about rural affordable housing.