What does the Byker Community Trust Board do?

The Board has responsibility to ensure strong control and management is in place to protect BCT’s assets (properties, land etc).

With this in mind the Board consistently monitors and challenges management practice and service delivery because it must ensure that the organisation is operating to the best possible standards and achieving value for money. These same principles apply equally to the Board itself.

BCT is a Registered Provider of Housing (Housing Association) and must comply with a range of regulatory and legal requirements, covering governance and management. The BCT Board sets an annual governance and management timetable to ensure all of BCT’s obligations are carried out, we test our standards of Governance annually against the National Housing Code of Governance 2015

We aim to make sure that the skills and experience of our Board are relevant to BCT’s business needs. Each Board member has an annual appraisal and skills audit, to make sure that we can identify any additional training needs which may be required.

The BCT Board presently comprises 12 people. All Board members are committed to working with you and for you to make Byker a better place to live.

Some are tenants, others are independent professionals who have a range of skills and two are representatives of Newcastle City Council.

Board Members give their time, skills and expertise to help BCT achieve its mission in accordance with its vision and values.

Upcoming Board Meetings (all held at BCT Office)

Date	Time
Wednesday, 27 November 2019	6pm - 8pm
Wednesday, 29 January 2020	6pm - 8pm

You can read the Board’s documents here:

Statement of Governance Principles for BCT

The BCT Board is;

Geraldine Kay

Chair of the BCT Board

Independent Board member since June 2018 and appointed as BCT Chair in September 2019. Geraldine has wide ranging Housing Sector experience. She was the former Chief Executive of Derwentside Homes until 2017 and more recently has been supporting Housing Associations recover from Regulatory downgrades. She is passionate about housing and has been actively involved as a Board member of a number of partnerships across the sector.

Annette Patten

Chair of the Customer Scrutiny Committee

Tenant Board member since November 2011. Annette lives in the Dunn Terrace area of the Byker Estate and works as a Wise Steps Coach on the Meadow Well Estate. Working previously at Mental Health Concerns, the National Children’s Society and Changing Lives. Annette is able to contribute a wealth of community development and support experience to the Board. Annette holds a BSc in Social Policy and Criminology.

Gordon Bell

Chair of the Governance and Remuneration Committee

Independent Board member since November 2011. Gordon’s professional background is in planning and regeneration. In addition to BCT Board, he is also the Chair of the Governance & Remuneration Committee and a member of the Audit and Risk Committee.

Christine Stobbs

Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee

Independent Board member since September 2016. Christine is a qualified chartered accountant and spent 13 years working with KPMG before moving into Industry. From March 2007, Christine worked at senior management level in private companies as Finance Direct/Group Financial Controller, responsible for all Statutory Financial reporting requirements.

Anthony Itiat

Tenant Board member since November 2017. Anthony graduated from University College Cork in Ireland with BA (Hons) in Psychology and Sociology and went on to gain a Post Graduate Higher Diploma (Hons) in People Management and Development (HR). Anthony is the founder and owner of IDARA, a business consulting firm.

Nigel Emmerson

Independent Board member since November 2015 (previously a co-optee from July 2013). Nigel is Head of Residential and Housing for Womble Bond Dickinson, based in the Newcastle office. He works with many organisations in the residential world, including several housing associations. He is able to use this experience and expertise to help BCT in any legal aspects. Nigel is very proud to be a board member, and passionately believes in creating a better Byker.

Victoria Beattie

Independent Board member since July 2018 and a member of the Audit & Risk Committee. Victoria is a retired Property and Assets Director from a large housing organisation in the North East; a Chartered Quantity Surveyor with over 30 years experience in Construction. She is delighted to be part of the Byker Community Trust Board.

Keith Tallintire

Independent Board member since September 2019 and member of the Audit and Risk Committee and Governance and Remuneration Committee. Keith held a number of senior financial and board positions in the manufacturing sector before becoming Director of Resources at Derwentside Homes housing association in 2006. Keith was also Chief Executive of its commercial arm, Prince Bishops Homes. Keith left Derwentside in 2017 setting up his own consultancy business.

Until April 2019, Keith was chair of the Audit Committee at South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust. Keith was also a Board Member of Prince Bishops Community Bank and served as Chair from 2016 to 2018.

Amanda Senior

Local Authority member since September 2014. Amanda is Head of the Fairer Housing Unit at Newcastle City Council.

Nick Kemp

Local Authority member since November 2011. Nick Kemp is a Labour Party councillor representing the Byker ward since 2002. Nick worked with local residents and the local MP to start the whole process which led to the creation of the BCT. Nick is passionate about helping make Byker a great place to live and work. He runs his own business which is based in Byker.

Nicola Snowdon

Tenant Board member since September 2019. Nicola has lived in Byker for the past 37 years. She has shown commitment to the Byker Estate by volunteering as a Family Support Worker for Barnardos to support residents to improve their lives, their personal development, education, training and to empower them to achieve their goals. Her goal is to help with the future development of the Estate and the community and to promote Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for all residents.

Caroline Prince

Tenant Board Member since September 2019. Caroline moved to Newcastle to complete an English Literature degree 18 years ago. She has now lived in the Byker Wall for around half that time, almost a decade, and developed a love for Byker and the surrounding areas. During her working life she has specialised in education and children’s social care for local government and has made and retained strong connections to the independent businesses located in the Ouseburn Valley.