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Homes England board member becomes chair of would-be for-profit registered provider
The former chair of Homes England, who remains a board member at the government agency until next month, has been named chair of a London-based company applying to become a for-profit provider of social housing.
Simon Dudley, who is senior independent director at Homes England, has been appointed by Square Roots Registered Provider, a division of developer London Square.
Square Roots is not currently registered as a provider with the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH). However, a spokesperson for the firm said it was “in the process of applying to become a registered provider”.
The spokesperson added: “Stage one of the process has been completed and we are now at stage two of the application.”
An RSH spokesperson said it does not comment on applications to join its register of social housing providers.
Mr Dudley, who served as interim chair of Homes England between the summer of 2019 and autumn 2020, is due to step down from the agency on 22 October this year.
Homes England has seen a number of senior changes of late with its boss Nick Walkley leaving abruptly earlier this year, replaced by Hyde Group chief executive Peter Denton. Peter Freeman, founder of developer Argent, took over as permanent chair last October.
The agency administers affordable housing grant on behalf of the government, with for-profit providers eligible for the funding.
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Asked by Inside Housing if Mr Dudley’s appointment with Square Roots represented a conflict of interest, a Homes England spokesperson said: “Simon Dudley has declared the role in his register of interests and will not be part of any decision-making that relates to the registered provider.”
Adam Lawrence, chief executive of London Square, said: “London Square is committed to building more homes in Greater London and with a major focus on affordable homes.
“This is why we have established Square Roots as a housing provider and we have already committed to seven sites in London where we will be building over 800 affordable homes.
“Simon Dudley has an outstanding record in the sector and Homes England has made its position clear that the appointment has been declared and been cleared by them.”
Mr Dudley declined to comment when contacted by Inside Housing.
In January this year, Mr Dudley was also appointed by the government as chair of Ebbsfleet Development Corporation, set up to deliver Ebbsfleet Garden City in North Kent – expected to be one of the largest housing developments on brownfield sites in the UK.
Mr Dudley is a former leader of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council and, according to his register of interests, a member of the Conservative Party.
Square Roots, which was incorporated in November last year, has also appointed Barbara Richardson as its managing director. She is a former head of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council’s property company.
According to Square Roots, it has six sites lined up to deliver around 700 homes for shared ownership and homes for affordable rent.
Among its ‘nature of business’ list on Companies House is “renting and operating of housing association real estate”.
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