THE head of the Clanmil Housing Group, Clare McCarty, has announced she will retire from her role at the end of 2021 after 30 years.
Taking the helm of the social housing group in 1984, then known the as Royal British Legion Housing Association, the group chief executive oversaw the provision of almost 5,500 homes for over 10,000 people.
In 2002, when responsibility for building new social housing in Northern Ireland passed to registered housing associations, Clanmil went from being a provider of sheltered housing to a major residential developer, involving multi-million-pound investment in the construction of hundreds of homes each year.
Last year Clanmil was responsible for almost 20 per cent of new social homes built across the north, and in the past three years has delivered 1,000 new homes involving an investment of over £125m.
The housing group now has an annual turnover of £38 million and a staff of 300.
Touchstone’s of Clare McCarty’s era include promoting shared neighbourhoods and successful mergers with Dungannon and District Housing Association in 2011 and Hearth Housing Association in 2016.
Another key legacy lies in Clanmil’s modern headquarters, which in 1999 involved the transformation of the the derelict historic Northern Whig building in Belfast’s Waring Street, an early marker of the regeneration of the Cathedral Quarter.
In 2007, Clare was awarded an OBE for services to social and in 2004, she was elected the first female Chair of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) in Northern Ireland. She also served as Northern Ireland chair of the Chartered Institute of Housing from 2001 to 2003.
Paying tribute to the outgoing group chief executive, Clanmil’s chair, Joy Scott, said: After a lifetime committed to providing homes to those in greatest need, Clare is stepping back from the daily routine of work and will be very much missed by the Board and all her colleagues, friends and many of our residents.
“Under Clare’s leadership the group has developed and grown into an innovative, contemporary and aspiring organisation on a sound financial footing with an appetite to face the challenges and opportunities in the aftermath of the pandemic and in the future.
“The Board are now starting the process to seek a successor and Clare has expressed her desire to assist in ensuring a smooth transition in the coming months. We are all grateful for Clare’s commitment, dedication and service over so many years and we wish her a long, active and happy retirement.”
