Ziggy Crawford takes over at BHA Chief Executive at the end of February. What drew her to the job and what her priorities are likely to be once she takes charge? She talks to Jamie Elliott.

When we meet in a Holloway cafe, Ziggy Crawford is keen to stress from the outset that her arrival will not signal a major upheaval for BHA.

"I think it’s really important that residents and staff understand that I’m that I’m not coming in with big changes in mind or planning to alter things just for the sake of it,” she says. “I’m going to take the time it needs to settle in and understand the place. Things that work well are likely to stay pretty much as they are. We will focus on what residents tell us needs to change or be improved.”

Ziggy’s involvement in housing goes back to the 1970’s when she was a founder member of a Kilburn housing cooperative - she lived in one of the co-op’s flats for almost two decades. “I was on the committee for years and learnt to see things from the tenants’ point of view,” she says.

An important lesson she took away was that most people’s priority is to have a decent roof over their head. “Tenants want their landlord to carry out repairs efficiently, charge a reasonable
But over and above getting the basics right, she predicts that helping individuals and the community thrive will take centre stage as the effects of the financial crisis are felt.” “I think we are going to live through some very difficult times in the next few years, with rising unemployment, benefit cuts and prices for essentials going up all the time,” she says. “So community development, like offering people help with managing money or finding employment, is going to become increasingly important.”

Ziggy likes the fact, for instance, that residents can just pop into the office to see staff and talk about their concerns. “Easy and informal access for residents is one of the great advantages of a small and friendly housing association like BHA,” she says. In fact, one of the main things that drew her to the top job was close involvement with tenants. “I’ve worked in big bureaucratic
organisations in the past and that’s not really me,” she says. “I’ve always enjoyed the bits of my job where I’ve had direct contact with people.” rent and look after the place. They don’t want to have to sit in endless meetings unless it is about something that directly.