16 January 2009
By Neil Merrick
A senior housing officer has been dismissed by her local authority after failing to declare that she had moved into sheltered housing previously used by elderly people.
Kristine Reeves, head of neighbourhood and strategic housing at Norwich City Council, was found guilty of gross misconduct on January 9 and will leave her post immediately.
Reeves and her partner, also a council employee, took a joint tenancy at Greyhound Opening, a decommissioned sheltered housing scheme, last September.
She also arranged for other staff to move into one-person properties that were no longer available to elderly residents.
A council statement said Reeves failed to seek approval for her move or see it as a conflict of interest.
She also failed to ensure that her department took appropriate safeguards over the letting of decommissioned homes to other people, the statement said.
'As a consequence of these actions, she has brought the council into severe disrepute,' it added.
The council decided two years ago to demolish Greyhound Opening and use the site for new affordable housing.
As elderly residents moved out, the empty homes were initially let on a short-term basis to senior staff who were relocating to Norwich.
But Reeves and her department went further by allowing other staff to rent homes – without gaining permission from council leaders.
In December, when the situation was exposed, 18 staff were living at Greyhound Opening, including Reeves and her partner.
The council has ordered an independent review into the way it investigated the affair, to be led by Phillip Watson, former chief executive of Blackburn with Darwen Council. It is expected to report later this month.
No other staff have been disciplined, but seven employees still renting accommodation have been told they must move out by the end of January.
PFjan2009
