INCOMMUNITIES Group Chief Executive, Geraldine Howley is getting ready to step down at the end of the month after nearly two decades leading the West Yorkshire housing association.

It follows Geraldine’s decision to retire.

Her long career started as a temporary housing receptionist with Bradford Council, based at Jacob’s Well in the late 1970s, before Geraldine become a housing officer covering the Manchester Road blocks.

From looking after a patch of 1,600 properties, Geraldine progressed with the Council gaining expertise in different areas before becoming the local authority’s Director of Housing.

Fast forward to 2003 and Geraldine led the new BCHT Group set up with the stock transfer – voted for by Council tenants – of over 26,000 homes.

Gradually, an unwieldy structure involving six area subsidiaries was streamlined by Geraldine and her team and the group was rebranded to create Incommunities in 2008.

Her leadership has been marked by building a ‘can do’ culture which has focused the minds of everyone on improving people’s lives and their neighbourhoods.

Since the successful achievement of Decent Homes Standard in 2010, she has overseen the delivery of multi million pound improvements to local homes which has transformed the neighbourhoods in which Incommunities operates.

In 2013 she led the review of the company’s office accommodation around the district and the acquisition of its headquarters at The Quays, Shipley.

Geraldine has overseen the growth of Incommunities through mergers, stock acquisitions and successful restructures.

In 2019, she played a vitally important role in the refinancing of Incommunities with a successful £250 million bond issue and securing a Standard and Poors A+ credit rating.

Geraldine has also overseen the delivery of over 1100 new affordable homes across Bradford, the Aire Valley, Wharfedale and beyond. The group now has homes in West, South and North Yorkshire.

In 2020 she led Incommunities’ response to the Covid lockdown and has also played a key partnership role in the district’s handling of the pandemic.

Incommunities Chair, Jan Ormondroyd praised Geraldine’s leadership: “Geraldine has successfully built Incommunities into a strong, forward looking organisation and leaves us with a strong platform to achieve our strategic growth ambitions to 2040.

“Everyone from the board, management and staff would like to wish her well as she moves onto exciting new challenges in her life.”

Geraldine Howley said: “I’ve loved my time at Incommunities and delivering our vision of improving people’s lives has always been my guiding principle as its CEO. I am leaving the organisation in great shape and wish my successor Rachael Dennis and everyone the very best for the future.”