Kingdom Housing Association confirmed the appointment of Freya Lees as the Association’s new chairperson at its October Board meeting.

Freya succeeds former chairperson Charles Milne who has completed his tenure in the role.

Freya has been a Board member with Kingdom since 2013 and also serves on the Policy Sub Committee and Senior Management Remuneration & Succession Planning Sub Committee, along with being a Board director on the Association’s subsidiary, Kingdom Initiatives. Freya is also director of housing consultancy firm North Star Consulting & Research.

Freya said: “I’m delighted to have been appointed as chair of Kingdom HA and am looking forward to working alongside Bill and the executive team to deliver new affordable homes and good quality services to our tenants and wider customers. Kingdom is committed to creating homes and places where people want to live, and providing good housing services to our wide range of customers. I am looking forward to leading the experienced Board to build on Charlie’s good work when I take on the role of chair.”

Charles will remain on the Board of Kingdom and will become chairperson of the Association’s second subsidiary, Kingdom Support & Care CIC, which will be operational from April 2017.

Charles said: “I am proud that despite the huge number of challenges that have been presented to the maintenance of social housing in the last five years that Kingdom have continued with an ambitious development plan. We have a strong balance sheet and a treasury management policy which will deliver another 1100 houses in the next five years.

“Beyond that though it has been a privilege to lead an organisation whose mission is to deliver ‘More than a home’ and does so by providing high quality services to our tenants and service users in the communities of Fife and beyond but also enhances the lives of many through its wider role activities. I know my successor Freya is equally committed to continue delivering on our mission and to continue to provide high quality services and I wish her well in her endeavours.”

In addition to the appointment of the new chairperson, Kingdom welcomed three new Board members following the AGM. Iain Connelly, a retired architect and former president of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS), with many years of local authority experience. Tom Barr, a Fife resident, is a former director with a consulting engineering practice. Rose Duncan is a Kingdom tenant, with many years experience of the voluntary sector and a former member of Kingdom’s Scrutiny Panel.

Commenting on the appointments, Bill Banks, chief executive at Kingdom, said: “We are very pleased to welcome Freya as our new chairperson and the new Board members. Their experience will be very valuable in taking forward our strategic objectives.”