Darren was in last year’s list as a visionary. Described by one as “a force of nature”, our judges felt that in the past 12 months, he has started to put that vision into practice.

As leader of Barking & Dagenham Council, Darren is overseeing one of the largest regeneration and growth projects in the country. Earlier this year saw the launch of its Be First company, which will handle the council’s planning functions, manage the many regeneration schemes across the borough and build homes of its own. The upshot is a projected 50,000 new homes delivered and 20,000 new jobs created over the next 10 years.

Be First adds to the council’s housing company, Reside, which has built hundreds of new homes for London Living Rent.

Steve Packham died following the judging of our power list. Mr Packham lost his battle with lung cancer, aged 66.

As Chelmsford’s chief executive, Steve played a vital role in helping the local authority reach its housing delivery goals.

The council has ambitious long-term targets for the future, with the delivery of 10,875 new homes planned across 40 sites from 2021 to 2036. Judges praised the council’s continued ambition and track record of delivery, which has seen Chelmsford out-perform its own delivery targets time and time again.

It is the “tone from the top”, aka Steve’s leadership, which helped to present the council as a can-do partner for housing delivery.

Roy Whitehead the leader of Chelmsford City Council, said: "Steve’s death is a terrible loss for everyone at Chelmsford City Council. He has been an extremely hard working public figure."

Few councils of comparable size have the same level of professionalism in their housing programmes as Ashford. In 2015, it became the first authority in the South East to be classified as ‘Housing Business Ready’ by the Housing & Finance Institute. It is now delivering £668m of investment across the borough, largely thanks to its leadership at a political and official level.

Gerry spent 30 years in the fire service before coming to politics, rising to chief executive of the London Fire and Civil Defence Authority and chief fire officer for the London Fire Brigade. He was elected Ashford Borough Council leader in 2013, as a prime example of the authority’s forward thinking and determined approach to development.

Southwark is the third-largest council landlord in the country, with around 37,000 homes. It has engaged in huge regeneration schemes across the borough, and shown an unparalleled willingness to invite development – notably through volunteering to part-fund an extension of the Bakerloo Line.

Peter and his team have also been eager to make the case for council development throughout London and beyond.

At times its programmes have proved highly controversial, grabbing headlines for the wrong reasons. However, our judges were impressed by the levels of delivery in the borough under Peter’s strong leadership. “He is setting out a vision for Southwark,” said one.

Our judges were impressed by Lord Porter’s preparedness to put his head above the political parapet to argue for greater levels of council housebuilding, and disagree with his Conservative colleagues.

One noted a key change in the LGA’s rhetoric in the past 12 months and said Lord Porter has become “a national influencer” by encouraging people within the organisation to fly the flag for new local authority development. That message has become louder and stronger, and appears to be having an impact at the highest level.

He names his own proudest housing achievement as overseeing the first pair of semi-detached homes built by South Holland District Council – of which he is leader – in 2006. “For years I’d been told as leader that councils couldn’t build houses,” he says. “I still smile with immense pride every time I drive past them.”

Colleagues describe Jacqui’s “innate ability to energise a room by simply being there”. She was recently confirmed as the permanent chief executive at Kirklees, having sat as interim for several months.

In that time, Jacqui has navigated thorny politics with experienced diplomacy to deliver the council’s Local Plan, and helped refresh the relationship with its ALMO, Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing. The authority also has plans to establish a housing development company under her watch, developing homes at a range of tenures. As one of our judges said, the council “is on a good journey”.

But Jacqui is also having a significant impact on development beyond her own authority. She is the lead chief executive for the Leeds City Region for housing and regeneration, with its plans for 20,000 new homes on brownfield land by 2028, and is set to become lead for the whole of Yorkshire.

Martin has worked to drive development in the North East for decades. As the SOLACE spokesperson for economic growth and housing, he led the 2015 policy document Addressing the National Housing Challenge, which is continuing to influence ministers.

His own authority is building 100 affordable homes a year through its South Tyneside Housing Ventures Trust, and is setting up a private sale delivery vehicle and a private landlord company.

Of the 775 homes built by all ALMOs last year, Nottingham City Homes delivered 185 of them. That is testament to an improving relationship between the landlord and its council, which was awarded strategic local authority of the year at the 2017 UK Housing Awards.

Nick has influence beyond his own organisation, having previously helped develop national housing policy in the senior civil service and as a board member of the Chartered Institute of Housing’s policy advisory committee. He featured as a visionary in last year’s Who’s Who.

Ones to watch

Introducing the new movers and shakers

A former colleague of Paul – the chief executive of Bolsover District Council – has previously compared his ability to drive through change in a room to the protagonist of 12 Angry Men.

He joined Ashfield less than a year ago, but has already made great strides towards ramping up development in the district. Through canny financial manoeuvring and housing management, including cutting rent arrears by 30%, he has managed to bring the authority back from the brink of its Housing Revenue Account borrowing cap. It is now gearing up to build 300 units in the next five years through a variety of avenues.

What’s more, Paul is pushing his authority into new arenas, including taking on Section 106 sites rejected by housing associations and embarking on an asset rationalisation programme.

Clare was only elected leader of Waltham Forest Council in May this year, but our judges noted how she “has completely changed the attitude and culture” in that short time. They praised her fresh ideas, enthusiasm and visionary style of leadership.

She has set housing firmly at the heart of driving growth in her borough. The council has ambitions to see 12,000 homes built by 2020, and Clare has taken a hands-on approach to reaching that target, meeting frequently with residents, community leaders, developers and housing associations.

Bill runs Wokingham Borough Council’s three housing companies: developers Wokingham Housing and Berry Brook Homes, and for-profit registered provider Loddon Homes. Each company has received widespread praise for the quality of their product, and our judges felt Bill represented the best at a “very high-performing council”.

With previous experience in the Housing Inspectorate, housing associations, local government and at Grainger plc’s affordable housing company, Bill is credited with driving the success of these companies. He cites the perseverance to gain for-profit registered provider status for Loddon Homes – a nine-month process – as an achievement of which he is particularly proud.

It was the first wholly council-owned organisation of its kind in June 2016.

As cabinet member for neighbourhoods and housing, John has drawn on his past experience as a housing professional in order to meet local development challenges.

In recent years, Hull has repeatedly exceeded its yearly target to build the 600-plus homes required to meet need in the city, despite relatively low developer activity. John has focused on forging partnerships with builders and ensuring that a strong pipeline of land is brought forward, with enough sites now in place for more than 4,000 homes on council-owned land.

Our judges felt John has managed to consistently deliver by “using all the tools at his disposal”. That includes capital investment programmes and funding for development bids, as well as land partnerships and bringing empty homes back into use.

Picture: Jon Enoch

Pat appeared on our list last year as an Influencer, but her efforts in driving proposals for devolution of powers and funding in the North East of England has seen her move over to the performer category.

Judges highlighted her vital role in picking up the pieces of that devolution deal and embarking on partnerships with other local councils to deliver new housing in the region.

Pat is particularly proud of her persistence in pushing through a 1,800-home development in the west end of Newcastle, a part of the city that has suffered high levels of deprivation over the years.

Carl also featured as a performer in last year’s Who’s Who. Under Carl’s watch, Stoke was the first council in the country to be declared Housing Business Ready by the Housing & Finance Institute. It continues to deliver through its Fortior Homes company, which is set to build 400 homes by March 2019, including 150 for high-end market rent. It’s also working on one of seven Housing Zones in the city which Carl helped establish, which are expected to deliver 1,200 homes with help from the Homes and Communities Agency.

In addition to securing Department for Communities and Local Government funding for a 500-home regeneration scheme and the revival of the council’s lauded £1 empty homes programme, Carl has been leading discussions with government over a potential bespoke deal to grant Stoke greater borrowing flexibilities, with just two other authorities.

A chartered surveyor of 20 years, Emma has overseen Exeter City Council’s return to building homes again for the first time in a quarter of a century.

She has also championed the development of low-energy, sustainable homes. Under her guidance, the authority delivered the UK’s first multi-residential Passivhaus scheme – which it claims “is probably the healthiest, most climate-resilient and energy efficient” in the country. It has ambitions to deliver 600 more through its development company, including the UK’s first Passivhaus extra care facility.

To ensure cost-effectiveness of these high-spec homes, Emma established a contractors’ framework for public sector bodies hoping to build similar products. This has had the dual effect of driving down the cost of development and giving other authorities greater opportunity to get involved.

Picture: David Oates

Joanne joined Manchester City Council as chief executive in April. There, she plays a crucial role in how devolution shapes the city’s future through her interactions with Andy Burnham, mayor of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, and the region’s other key stakeholders, as they strive to build 227,200 homes over the next 20 years.

Housing providers at least can be sure that Joanne understands their businesses and aims, having begun her working life as an apprentice in Birmingham City Council’s housing department at 16 and held director roles in the housing teams at Kirklees and Sheffield councils. She was awarded an OBE for services to local government in 2009.

Manchester City Council has also been working to boost its own portfolio with the establishment of its £10m Housing Affordability Fund, which aims to deliver 2,500 homes of a range of tenures over the next five years.

Susan Aitken is the chair of the Glasgow City Region and leader of Glasgow City Council after the SNP ousted Labour from the council in May. In her city region role she is overseeing an ambitious plan to build 110,000 homes in and around Glasgow by 2035. Part of the £1bn Glasgow City Region deal struck with the Scottish and UK governments, eight councils in the region are seeking first refusal on public land for housing developments. This housing strategy could make a huge contribution to the Scottish Government’s pledge to build 50,000 affordable homes by 2021. Ms Aitken was originally a member of the Labour Party, but switched to SNP in 2000.

Probably the most high-profile of the metro mayors, Andy has an important job to deliver on the promise of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA).

Our judges noted that he has expressed “a clear ambition” to eradicate homelessness and boost affordable development – building on work already done at the GMCA before his arrival. He has convinced housing associations in the region to back his call for a Housing First approach to end rough sleeping.

With £300m to loan out to developers, it will be intriguing to see how Andy and his housing portfolio leader, Salford mayor Paul Dennett, perform against their promises.

Picture: Francis Hawkins/SWNS

Our judges felt that Marvin represents a strong example of an elected mayor inspiring development.

As part of the election campaign, which saw him sweep to victory in Bristol last year, he has pledged to oversee the building of 2,000 homes a year by 2020, including 800 affordable homes. Meeting those goals will be key for a city with one of the worst housing crises in the country.

Under Marvin’s leadership, the council has pledged to invest £175m in housebuilding to help achieve that target – which will help pay for a new council-owned development company and include a £57m grant package for housing associations.

Rebecca has strived to bring the council and its ALMO closer together.

Meanwhile, Rebecca, who has led Newark and Sherwood Homes since it was established in 2004, is pushing to deliver 335 new council homes in the next five years on underused Housing Revenue Account land. She hopes to lift that to 550 over six years if negotiations with government are successful.

Former John Lewis managing director Andy Street has championed brownfield infill to meet housing need in the West Midlands. He wants to see 165,000 homes built by 2030, spending £200m on preparing sites.

He has also been vocal on his eagerness to work with housing associations to deliver enough affordable housing for the region, committing to “align strategic plans” with landlords in the combined authority’s recent Land Delivery Action Plan.

And like Andy Burnham, he has gone beyond his formal remit to take steps to battle homelessness, establishing a regional task force to get people off the streets.