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Specialist homelessness landlord appoints three board members
An east London housing association specialising in homelessness and key worker accommodation has appointed three new board members.
Local Space appointed Sue Bunt, Marie Ching and Sarah Beckwith to its board at the end of 2024 and they took up their positions this month.
Ms Bunt is head of organisational development at Hyde. With 20 years’ experience in social housing, she specialises in organisational culture, leadership development, strategic human resources, and diversity and inclusion.
She was born in east London and wants to use her experience to contribute to the community in which she was raised. Ms Bunt also sits on the board of the Housing Diversity Network.
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Ms Ching is a board member at Estuary Housing Association and chair at both Selwood Housing and Gravesend Churches Housing Association.
She has over 10 years’ experience in the social housing sector, and specialises in governance, financial and risk management, housing services, asset management and development.
Ms Ching was attracted to Local Space’s values and vision, which align with her interest meeting the needs of people experiencing homelessness.
Ms Beckwith is a chartered surveyor and has worked in the property industry for over 20 years, with a portfolio of property consultancy and board roles. She specialises in strategic property and asset management, and governance across the private, public and charity sectors.
The chartered surveyor has joined Local Space’s board to contribute to an organisation making a difference to address homelessness and the housing crisis.
Josie Parsons, chief executive of Local Space, said the new appointments have “a strong track record and impressive expertise in the sector, along with a passion for the work we do”.
She continued: “With record numbers of people already being housed in temporary accommodation and with signs that the economy is slowing, we expect 2025 to be a very challenging year from a tackling homelessness perspective.
“Our new board members will make a significant contribution to Local Space and help us to continue our crucial work in addressing homelessness and helping families and those in need, by providing settled accommodation and a stable and firm foundation.”
Local Space owns more than 3,000 properties across nine local authority areas in north-east London and Essex.
The housing association was created in 2006 in partnership with Newham Council to help local authorities to achieve a long-term supply of affordable accommodation for homeless people and those in urgent need of housing.
In June 2024, Local Space maintained its AA- credit rating with S&P Global Ratings for the eighth year in a row.
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