‘fire in my belly has never gone out’, says housing exec ahead of retirement 

A housing executive who has worked to improve living standards and opportunities in north-east England for more than 40 years will retire this month. 

Bill Fullen steps down as chief executive of the County Durham-based housing association believe housing on March 31.

Bill has been at the helm of believe housing, and its predecessor County Durham Housing Group, for nine years.

He will be succeeded by Alan Smith, the current Executive Director of Investment, Growth and Performance at believe housing.

Bill studied general practice surveying at Newcastle Polytechnic in the mid-1970s, but a career in private practice was never on the cards.

He says: “I remember watching Cathy Come Home when I was quite young, I felt this moral outrage that parts of society seemed to think it was acceptable for some people to be homeless.

“I wanted to use the knowledge from my studies to advocate on behalf of people who were badly housed. That fire in my belly has never gone out.”

After graduating, and a couple of years doing various jobs including packing tulip bulbs in Holland and working in an Oxford bookshop, Bill became a volunteer caseworker at Tyneside Housing Aid Centre (THAC), Shelter’s outpost in the region.

Advocating for the homeless and badly housed, he would challenge local authorities on their homeless duties.

“Many decisions were based on prejudice towards the homeless,” he recalls.

He then worked for Keeping Newcastle Warm and returned to THAC as an employed caseworker.

Helping clients with their individual circumstances was important but his campaigning for policy changes, to benefit everyone, had a greater impact.

An early success saw Bill fight for homeless people under 18 to be given priority need for housing; an aim achieved locally and ultimately changed in legislation.

And he worked on the national Campaign for Bedsit Rights to expose deplorable conditions at HMOs where women were placed at considerable risk. As a result, the local authority used its powers to take control of those properties.

In 1986 Bill joined Gateshead Council on a temporary contract and stayed for 25 years, ultimately becoming its Director of Neighbourhood Operations.

In that time, he helped to rejuvenate rundown neighbourhoods, reduced the council’s stock to a sustainable level, introduced one-stop shops and digital innovations to improve customer services, and used public art projects to bridge generational gaps and boost community cohesion.

He led on the development and became Chief Executive of the authority’s Arm’s-Length Management Organisation, The Gateshead Housing Company (TGHC). In eight years he oversaw £330m investment in more than 20,000 homes.

And he established its charitable subsidiary, Keelman Homes, creating the vehicle to bring the first new ‘council’ housing to the borough in a generation.

“One of the most worthwhile new build schemes we completed replaced 1940s prefabricated housing in a former mining village. It was a substantial regeneration scheme with a heart. People were able to be rehoused next to existing neighbours if they wanted,” says Bill.

After Gateshead, Bill worked as a housing consultant then as an associate director at South Tyneside Homes.

Then in 2014, he led County Durham’s large scale voluntary transfer of 18,000 council houses to three landlords, under the umbrella of County Durham Housing Group (CDHG).

He was Group Chief Executive of CDHG from 2015 and, in 2019, brought those landlords together, rebranding the business as believe housing, with the vision of delivering ‘life without barriers’.

Here, he has spearheaded an ongoing commitment to deliver 2,000 new homes where they are most needed and significant investment to make existing homes fit for future needs and more energy efficient.

Under Bill’s leadership, believe housing has helped hundreds of customers into work and training, supported voluntary groups to make a difference in communities, and it became the world’s first housing association to achieve the Carbon Neutral International Standard.

His forethought on agile working meant believe housing was industry-leading in responding to Covid-19, and he instigated and took part in welfare phone calls to 18,000 customers.

He has been dedicated to upskilling people and improving business culture and performance, leading to two consecutive Best Companies two-star ‘outstanding to work for’ awards for believe housing.

Bill has also given his time and skills to benefit others in voluntary roles, including spells as a Board trustee for Shelter and Chair of the Chartered Institute of Housing’s regional branch.

And he acted as external examiner for Northumbria University.

Bill said: “I’ve enjoyed my career and always done the best I can, whether that was campaigning from the outside or affecting change from within.

“I’ve been involved with some real achievements that have helped individuals and communities, and I’ve also seen the same issues and challenges return in cycles. The trick is to continue moving forward and that means investment.

“The last nine years at believe housing have been the most enjoyable and I know it has a strong culture in place and is in a great position to continue its work into the future.”

Judith Common, Chair of the Board at believe housing, said: “Bill Fullen is held in high regard by everyone we engage with, both within the sector and at partner organisations, regionally and nationally.

“His voice is listened to, acknowledged, and respected. He’s openminded, well researched, creative, and imaginative and always listens to others’ views.

“He’s committed to the health and economic wellbeing of the region and is proactive in several strategic partnerships, where everyone speaks of a professional and intuitive individual who is always true to his beliefs.

“One of Bill’s greatest achievements is bringing together three geographically distinct housing companies and creating the believe housing brand, with a strong shared vision and values and a vibrant culture.

“Bill’s legacy ensures our vision and values underpin everything we do and his focus on investing in our people means there’s a wealth of talent able to take believe housing on the next phase of our journey to deliver homes that people are proud to live in.

“This will see us continue to support our customers and people, break down barriers to progression, invest in the green agenda, build and invest in our homes, support the economic regeneration of the area, and support initiatives that tackle education and health inequalities.”