23 March 2007
Housing Corporation chief executive Jon Rouse is leaving his post this summer to lead Croydon council. His appointment as the London borough's chief executive should be confirmed next week.
Rouse, who will be only Croydon's sixth chief executive in 70 years, joined the corporation three years ago from the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment.
His departure comes two months after ministers confirmed that the corporation will disappear in a shake-up that will lead to the creation of Communities England, a new agency to fund and regulate social landlords.
The agency will bring together the functions of English Partnerships, the Housing Corporation and a range of work carried out by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Its remit will include delivery in the areas of decent homes, housing market renewal, housing Private Finance Initiative projects, housing growth and urban regeneration.
Rouse, who was among the favourites to lead the agency, said he was disappointed not to be playing a full part in its launch.
'I will continue to be a strong advocate for the creation of an integrated national housing and regeneration agency from my new position within the local government sector,' he added.
During his time at the corporation, Rouse made increased house-building his top priority. He risked muddying its close relationship with the National Housing Federation by encouraging private developers to bid for grants, and tried to mould a new role for local authorities as construction partners.
Peter Dixon, the chair of the corporation, said that Rouse would be hugely missed. 'The current profile of social housing and its increased prominence in both local and national thinking owe much to his energy and enthusiasm,' he said.
PFmar2007
