Northwards Housing

Meet the Northwards board

A 12-person board of volunteers manages Northwards and makes decisions independent of the Council.

Three smaller sub-committees look at issues in more details and make recommendations to the main board.

We believe local people like you are in the best position to shape the housing service. That's why there are four tenant members on the Northwards board. They have equal decision-making power with the four board members nominated by the Council (three councillors and one senior staff-member) and with the four 'independent' board members.

The board makes policies and plans for Northwards, sets our wider aims and objectives and makes sure that the staff working day-to-day are meeting standards. Find out more about the board's responsibilities.

The board meets every month. You are welcome to come to our meetings and can ask to speak.

Tenant board members

	Madeline Mendy Madeline has been a tenant of Northwards for the past 5 years. She is a chartered accountant and currently works for Hallidays LLP as an Audit and Accounts Supervisor. She has also worked as an accountant and internal auditor.
	Derek Purnell Derek Purnell has been a tenant in Newton Heath with his wife for the past thirty years where they raised their three children. He is Chair of Troydale Tenants & Residents Association and Vice Chair of ‘Friends of Rochdale Canal’.
	Sue Abbot A tenant since 2001, Sue has been involved with Northwards since the beginning, sitting on the Steering Group & Riverways Area Panel for several years. She worked for the Home Office for 38 years and, now retired, enjoys voluntary activities.
	Vacancy There is currently a vacancy for a tenant board member. Interested? Call Emma on 0161 720 5823 for an application pack or email emma.harris@northwardshousing.co.uk. New board members will be appointed at our Annual General Meeting in October.

Council nominated members

	Councillor Anna Trotman (Higher Blackley Ward) Anna lives in Higher Blackley and has represented the ward since 1999. She is actively involved in local tenants and residents groups.
	Councillor Naeem Ul Hassan JP (Cheetham Ward) Naeem lives in Cheetham Hill and has represented the ward since 2006. He is a member of the Health and Well Being, Licensing and Appeals Committee and the Licensing Committee.
	Councillor Mark Hackett (Charlestown Ward) Mark has been a councillor for 20 years. He is a former Lord Mayor, Chair of the Education Committee and Executive member for Culture and Leisure. Currently, he sits on the Culture Tourism and Sport Board of the Local Government Association, representing the Labour Party.
	Fiona Sharkey Fiona has worked in local Government for 26 years, with the last 24 years at Manchester City Council. She has spent most of her career in Housing, but for the last six years has been Head of the Council's Regulatory and Enforcement Services.

Independent Members

	Basat Mahmood Sheikh Basat is Chief Executive of the First Asian Support Trust (FAST) Ltd, a registered charity working predominantly in the Welfare to Work Sector. He is an active member of the Cheetham community working with the elderly and young.
	Hilary Vaughan (Acting Chair of the Board) Hilary is a freelance consultant and former Assistant Director at Manchester City Council and Director of Salix Homes.
	Noel Sharpe Noel has spent over 17 years working in social housing in London and Greater Manchester. As Executive Director for Customer Services at Halton Housing Trust, Noel is responsible for all customer facing services from housing management to customer involvement.
	Guy Johnson Guy is a qualified accountant and has eight years experience of working at a senior level within the housing sector. Since April 2006, he has worked for Eastlands Homes as Head of Finance. He is the Board Lead for Value for Money.

Board co-optees

Mark Leach
Mark is a specialist employment lawyer with over 20 years experience of advising public sector bodies, private employers and employees on the full range of employment issues. He works and lives in Manchester, and is the Board Lead for Health & Safety.

Sub-Committee Co-optees

	Fatima Adamjee Fatima works at The Manchester College as Senior Project Officer in the Finance section.She has worked in Public Sector Finance for 27 years and lived in Crumpsall / Cheetham Hill for thirty years.
	Karen Blakeley Karen has been a tenant in Harpurhey since 1995. A former teacher and civil servant, she is keen to develop her links with different communities in North Manchester.
	Michelle Blakeley Michelle has been a tenant in Harpurhey for 19 years. She works for the Civil Service and has a keen interest in quality issues and tenant empowerment.
	Joan FitzGerald Joan has lived on Dam Head since 1973. As well as being involved in the early days of setting up Northwards, she was a Board Member from 2005 - 2009 and has been involved with many of our committees and forums.
	Sharon Thomas Sharon has lived and worked in Manchester for over 20 years and has over 27 years experience within the housing sector. More recently Sharon has been working with a number of different communities in Manchester and around the country at a senior level doing community development work.

Your Northwards

print this page