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MEET THE COMMISSIONERS
Manchester Social Housing Commission
The Right Reverend Prof. David Walker (Chair)
Bishop of Manchester
David was a Housing Association board member from 1988 until 2022, and his passion for social housing, urban regeneration and the wellbeing of tenants also led him to be a member of the National Housing Federation Board and as Chair of HACT. Most recently David was the Chair of the Wythenshawe Community Housing Group.
David has held the position of Bishop of Manchester since 2013 and prior to that he was Bishop of Dudley, following 17 years in assorted parish ministries and industrial chaplaincy in the Diocese of Sheffield.
David is one of 26 Lords Spiritual in the House of Lords and regularly speaks on issues of housing, poverty and inequality, international trade, and issues that impact on the life of people in Greater Manchester and the Northern Powerhouse
Andrea Lowman
Director of Development, Wythenshawe Community Housing Group (WCHG)
Andrea originally studied architecture and after working in a practice became interested in regeneration and housing. Her first job in the housing sector was as a development officer at St Vincent's Housing association and since then has been fortunate to work for a number of forward thinking organisations, mainly in the North West.
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She has also been a board member and chair of a North West housing association and has been a director for the last 20 years responsible for all aspects of, development, regeneration, community investment, asset management, investment and repairs delivery.
Canon Andrea Titterington
Affordable housing work in England, the U.S., Germany and Tanzania led to recent voluntary roles as Project Manager for a parish/housing scheme in Preston and the Policy Forum for the Academy of Urbanism.
Andrea worked in Liverpool for over 25 years as a housing association CEO, Director of Regeneration for Liverpool Football Club, a Board Member of Liverpool Vision, The Mersey Partnership, Chair of Housing Federation North, CABE NW Representative, and a Member of the Housing Research/ Development Committee of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
She is a Licensed Lay Minister and Lay Canon Emeritus of Blackburn Cathedral.
Nigel de Noronha
Research Associate, University of Manchester
Nigel's academic work has focused on the impact of housing inequalities on racialised minorities, migrants and work-class household. The persistence of housing inequality amongst marginalised groups reflects the lack of attention paid to the housing needs of these groups and the need to address this to address the impact on the financial and social well-being of inadequate housing. Nigel hopes to bring this approach into defining solutions to delivering the housing that Manchester residents need.
David Rudlin
Director of Urban Design, BDP
David is one of the leading urban designers in the UK as past chair of the Academy of Urbanism, winner of the 2014 Wolfson Economic’s Prize and principal author of the Government’s National Model Design Code.
David joined BDP as director of Urban Design in November 2022. He is managing urban design and master planning projects across the UK with a focus on the north. He also has a role as chair of the Urban design profession across BDP’s offices worldwide. Prior to joining BDP David was principal of URBED (Urbanism Environment and Design), one of the UK’s longest standing and best respected urban design practices. He is a planner by training and started his career with Manchester City Council.
At URBED he has been responsible for a range of high-profile masterplans including major mixed use schemes in Bristol, Brighton, Nottingham and London all of which are complete. Through URBED he has also undertaken University masterplans for the Universities of Liverpool, Bradford, and Nottingham Trent Basin
Councillor Gavin White
Executive Member for Housing and Development, Manchester City Council
Gavin trained as an architect and was first elected as a Labour councillor in 2018 after working for a charity involved in housing and homelessness.
Gavin now has the Executive Role for Housing and Development at Manchester City Council. He wants to see more good quality, low carbon social housing in every ward in Manchester, and bring the political will and leadership to help us achieve that across the city.
Isaac Rose
Organiser, GM Tenants Union
Isaac has worked as a community organiser for GMTU since 2020, organising alongside social housing tenants in Hulme, Moss Side and Middleton. He has nearly a decade of experience within housing campaigns and tenants unions, and currently sits on the steering group of the national 'Homes for Us' alliance convened by the New Economics Foundation.
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He would most like the commission to ensure policy change within Manchester such that demolitons of social housing are stopped, that more newbuilds are social housing, and that planning applications are scrutinised so that the city hits its targets for affordable housebuilding. Beyond that he would like the Commission to spearhead a wider push for increased powers for local government to be able to deliver council homes again.
Jo Walby
Chief Executive Officer, Mustard Tree
Jo joined Mustard Tree in 2017, following 8 years in an executive role at Big Life Group, managing the charity’s proposition around Primary Care including delivering NHS and local authority contracts – particularly in mental health.
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Jo has massively developed the charity, beginning with the ‘big-rebuild’ of our Ancoats site, in which it was transformed into the welcoming, dignified space it is today. She has steered Mustard Tree through numerous crises and extraordinary circumstances, most intensely through the Covid-19 pandemic, in which we were one of the only Manchester charities to remain open, and the Cost-of-Living crisis, through which we face unprecedented demand at a time of extreme economic constraint. Jo is well connected in the community and across GM, sitting on Manchester’s Health and Inequalities Group, GM Reform Board, and GM Homelessness Programme Board.
Naomi Luhde-Thompson
Director, Rights Community Action
Naomi leads Rights Community Action. She is a creative and dedicated change-maker, who works to empower communities. Naomi heads up a programme for training communities on their right to be involved in environmental decision-making and is also Senior Lecturer at Oxford Brookes University, teaching on Sustainable Futures.
She has led transformative campaigns on land use planning to prevent fossil fuel extraction and on legislative change to enshrine procedural rights and climate protections.
Nick Horne
Chair, Manchester Housing Providers Partnership
'Nick Horne represents the Manchester Housing Providers' Partnership on the Commission
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Since September 2019 Nick has been CEO of Wythenshawe Community Housing Group, the housing association with the most social homes in Manchester (14,000).
Since April 2024, Nick has also been Chair of the Manchester Housing Providers Partnership, whose 20+ members own and manage all of the 70,000 social housing in Manchester.
Nick brings 30+ years of working at a senior level in the housing sector, including as a developer of new homes.
Ellie Radcliffe
Project Manager, Carbon Co-op
Ellie has almost a decade of experience placing people at the centre of shaping policy and practice around housing, local economic development and tackling climate breakdown. After four years driving work at the Centre for Local Economic Strategies on the links between community wealth building and the just transition, she is now part of the Energy Commons team at Carbon Co-op. Carbon Co-op are a cooperative rooted in Manchester which places people at the heart of the energy transition.
Her current work includes leading Retrofit for All, a project seeking to enable people-centred approaches to publicly-funded retrofit within social housing. Improvements and retrofit to existing social housing stock will be critical to ensuring it is fit for the future - not only delivering homes that are good for the planet, but that are also healthy, warm and affordable. She would like to see the commission prioritise these improvements alongside the delivery of new social housing which is sustainable by design, and advocate for approaches to delivering both retrofit and new affordable housing which drive wealth back into communities and businesses within Manchester.
Dr Philip Brown
Professor of Housing and Communities, University of Huddersfield
Philip Brown is the academic lead of the University of Huddersfield's Healthy Housing Initiative (HHI). His research aims to understand and contribute to alleviating the housing and neighbourhood inequalities experienced by members of marginalised communities.
Philip has supported the European Parliament, Council of Europe, Fundamental Rights Agency, major funders, devolved administrations and government departments.
Philip has also had a number of external roles including as Specialist Advisor to the Parliamentary Women & Equalities Committee and have supported the UK All Party Parliamentary Groups on Migration and Gypsy, Travellers and Roma in relation to monitoring the impacts of Brexit.
For 6 years Philip was on the Board of Fair Housing Futures across Greater Manchester and has worked in and around Greater Manchester since 2005.
Sheikha Omar
Chair, Moss Side Tenants Union
Sheikha, a new Social Housing Commissioner, brings a diverse background in business development, social enterprise, and community engagement. With postgraduate education from Manchester Business School and experience in accounting and finance, she offers strong financial and strategic planning skills.
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Her work with diverse communities, including refugees and individuals with special needs, provides insights into housing challenges. As a member of climate action groups and former Board member of Mosscare Tenant Association, she advocates for environmentally responsible housing and equality.
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As Chairperson of the Greater Manchester Tenant Union Moss Side branch, Sheikha leads efforts to address tenants' issues. Her role as commissioner aims to drive significant changes in the social housing sector, including:
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1. Abolishing section 21
2. Improving succession laws
3. Freedom of information legislation to housing associations.
4. End to the sale of Social housing to private equity companies .
5. Enforcing Awaab's Law
6. New legislation for asbestos in social housing
7. Advocating for insulation grants
8. Establishing a new social housing ombudsman
9. Pushing for transparency through freedom of information requests
10. Addressing regulation loopholes
11. Balancing development with green space protection
12. Promoting neurodiversity in the workplace
Sheikha is committed to creating positive change and ensuring social housing meets diverse community needs while promoting sustainability and fairness.
Sheila Davies
​Chair, Miles Platting Community and Age-friendly Network (MPCAN)
Sheila has been an active member of the Collyhurst and Miles Platting communities for decades and has a number of leadership roles including at St Georges Youth and Community Centre; Collyhurst Big Local; and MPCAN. She was a volunteer youth and community worker working in play schemes and with young people and families across North Manchester for many years.
Sheila is sharing MPCAN’s seat on the Commission with Sue Anya.
Dr Stuart Hodkinson
Associate Professor of Critical Geography, University of Leeds
Stuart's academic research has focused on the devastating effects of housing privatisation, financialised regeneration, austerity and deregulation on the state of UK housing.
Stuart am hoping to bring those insights into a robust and critical analysis of how to address local housing need in Manchester amid global ecological limits and share our findings nationally and internationally.
Sue Anya
Vice-Chair, Miles Platting Community & Age-Friendly Network (MPCAN)
Sue has lived in social housing in the Collyhurst/Miles Platting areas for 28 years.
Sue has been an active community leader across these areas for decades and was a member of the Miles Platting PFI monitoring panel.
Her current leadership roles include Miles Platting Savers, St Georges Youth and Community centre, and MPCAN.
Sue is sharing MPCAN’s seat on the Commission with Sheila Davis.
Thirza Amina Asanga-Rae
Organiser, GM Tenants Union
Thirza is a Nigerian born British National who spent her youth growing up in South Manchester before relocating to London for 15 years where she studied for a BA Hons in Business and a Pg DIP in in International Labour and Trade Union studies. Whilst there she began her career in the railway services and operations working her way up the ranks through GNER, Virgin Trains and Trans Pennine Express. Her interaction with Unions in the rail sector ignited her passion for activism and sparked a chain reaction that pivoted her into full time representation with unions like the TSSA ,UNITE and her most recent position as former Chair of Greater Manchester Tenant Union and now as Organiser in Moss Side where they address issues around racism housing, disrepair, antisocial behaviour, the impact of AirBNB properties and the erosion of family housing. Thirza is also a social housing tenant.
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This passion to drive change and harness equality in all spheres of our life has also lead to Thirza’s active involvement in numerous community organisations and projects including GREAT where she campaigns and strives to break the “Schools to prison” pipeline; UBELE; and The Windrush Centre where she is a Director.
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Tom Chance
CEO, Community Land Trust Network
Tom leads the Community Land Trust Network, the membership body and charity for 360 CLTs across England and Wales, including our policy advocacy work.
Tom has also been a leading figure in the wider community-led housing movement. Prior to that Tom worked as a freelance consultant specialising in housing and planning, and as a researcher and head of office for politicians at the London Assembly. Tom will bring a deep experience of community perspectives and options in the housing system.
Venus Galarza
Policy Manager, Shelter
Venus has extensive experience in government, legislation and political campaigns in the U.S. and U.K. She has worked on issues across various policy areas such as housing, land and planning, health, voting rights, transportation and climate change. She has had the honour of serving diverse communities and is passionate about civic and democratic engagement.
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In her current role at Shelter, she focuses on how government can end the housing emergency through the delivery of social rent homes. Her work brings together the intersectionality between housing and other critical policy areas like health, the economy and climate justice. She also co-leads Shelter’s race and housing campaign that seeks to end housing discrimination in England.
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Venus has a master's degree in Public Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science
Vicky Leigh
Assistant Principal, GM Academies Trust
Vicky is based within a secondary school in North Manchester, leading on a cluster of local schools addressing issues which are important to us and our community.
Since 2019 the schools identified housing as a key issue affecting the students and their families. They noticed that poor housing and risk of homelessness affects many things including attendance, behaviour, physical and mental health.
Following the lifting of the eviction ban post Covid, they created a working group called @HOME in partnership with VCSE organisations alongside MCC leads for housing. They recognise that schools have a role to play in supporting families and through our relationships are able to help with early identification of issues and the prevention of homelessness.
Vikcy hopes hope to bring the experiences of families to the Commission and to advocate for the needs of families, children and young people who face homelessness or live in sub-standard accommodation.
Zoe Marlow
Committee member for Wythenshawe Central, Dandelion Savers and Wythenshawe Women’s Welfare Association
​Zoe has lived in social housing in Wythenshawe for over forty years and is an active member of the community. In addition to the above leadership roles in community groups and neighbourhood networks she is Food Bank Manager at the Dandelion Community Hub. She also has a 17-year-old son living in supported accommodation.
Zoe has been an active member of the Women of Wythenshawe housing action group since 2023 and is at the forefront of a campaign to secure 30% social rented accommodation within the new redevelopment of Wythenshawe Civic Centre.
John Ryan
Strategic Lead Greater Manchester, Shelter
John has worked for Shelter the Campaign for Homeless People for almost 20 years; 14 of which have been in Greater Manchester.
As a strategic lead his is responsible for leading Shelters service delivery, policy, campaigns, lobbying and influencing across Greater Manchester. He currently has a team of 40 staff dedicated to ending the housing emergency.
John is passionate about tackling inequality and injustice because it limits people in our society who for whatever reason fall on difficult or hard times.
He is committed to working with partners and stakeholders to bring about an end to homelessness in all its forms and to understand and act upon the systemic issues that keep people trapped in a cycle of homelessness and bad housing.
At the root of this is two decades of a complete lack of social and truly affordable housing being built at scale within Manchester.
Utilizing what was originally a proverb - The best time to build a new generation of social housing was 20 years ago, the second-best time is now.
Matt Jones
Vice Chair, Manchester Housing Providers Partnership & Executive Director for Customers, Moss Care St Vincents
Matt Jones is Exec Director of Customers at MSV Housing, a North West Housing Association with circa 9000 homes, operating across 17 Local Authority areas. MSV has a long and proud history in Manchester with over 40% of homes situated in Manchester, the majority of which are in Moss Side. With a career in social housing spanning almost 30 years, Matt has worked in a variety of frontline and leadership roles before joining MSV in 2019.
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​In his current role, Matt is responsible for providing operational services to tenants and residents and ensuring that regulatory and legislative requirements are met. Passionate about social justice, providing good quality homes with those that need them and tackling enduring inequality, Matt is a strong advocate for the housing sector and is joining the Commission both in his capacity as Vice Chair of MHPP and as a senior officer at one of the City’s lead RPs.
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Sophie King (Convener)
Director, Community Led Action & Savings Support
Sophie has spent the last twenty years working with communities to explore ideas, strategies, and methodologies for building community, amplifying community voice, and co-producing solutions that address intersecting inequalities.
In 2020, she co-founded CLASS with leaders of Community Savers and colleagues at the universities of Manchester and Sheffield under the mentorship of Kenyan and South African branches of Shack/Slum Dwellers International. CLASS works in alliance with Community Savers which is a movement of majority women-led and neighbourhood-based associations working together to advance urban social, economic, and climate justice.
