Clanmil Chief Executive to retire after over 30 years at the Top

Clanmil Housing Group Chief Executive, Clare McCarty has announced her plans to retire at the end of 2021.  This comes at a time when the organisation is preparing for continued growth and is about to launch an ambitious 5-year strategic plan that will see it deliver more much-needed new homes, services and support.

Clare was appointed Chief Executive of Clanmil Housing, then known as Royal British Legion Housing Association, in 1984. Under her leadership the organisation has grown to become one of Northern Ireland’s leading housing associations, now providing almost 5,500 homes for over 10,000 people, with an annual turnover of £38M and employing more than 300 people.

When responsibility for building new social housing in Northern Ireland passed to registered housing associations in 2002, Clare led a major transformation from being a provider of sheltered housing to a major residential developer, involving multi-million-pound investment in the construction of hundreds of homes each year for families, as well as specialist housing for people in later life and for those who need extra support. 

Last year Clanmil was responsible for almost 20% of new social homes built across Northern Ireland and in the past three years has delivered 1,000 new homes involving an investment of over £125M. 

Under Clare’s leadership, through its new homes development programme Clanmil has also played a key role in promoting shared neighbourhoods as a route to a more shared society in line with the Northern Ireland Executive’s Together: Building a United Community and Housing for All strategies.

Clare also managed the successful mergers of Clanmil with Dungannon and District Housing Association in 2011 and Hearth Housing Association in 2016.

Through Clare’s vision, the derelict historic Northern Whig building in Waring Street was transformed into a modern headquarters for Clanmil in 1999, helping pave the way for the redevelopment of the Cathedral Quarter area.

Over the past year Clare has headed up Clanmil’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring that the people who live in the homes it provides continue to receive essential services and support at a time when they need them most.

In 2007, Clare was awarded an OBE for services to social housing in Northern Ireland.  In 2004, she was elected the first female Chair of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) in Northern Ireland and served as Northern Ireland Chair of the Chartered Institute of Housing from 2001 to 2003.

Joy Scott, Group Chair at Clanmil, said:

“Our highly respected and much-loved Group Chief Executive Clare has announced her planned retirement. After a lifetime committed to providing homes to those in greatest need, Clare is stepping back from the daily routine of work and will be very much missed by the Board and all her colleagues, friends and many of our residents.

“Under Clare’s leadership the Group has developed and grown into an innovative, contemporary and aspiring organisation on a sound financial footing with an appetite to face the challenges and opportunities in the aftermath of the pandemic and in the future.

“The Board are now starting the process to seek a successor and Clare has expressed her desire to assist in ensuring a smooth transition in the coming months. We are all grateful for Clare’s commitment, dedication and service over so many years and we wish her a long, active and happy retirement.”