End of an era for Fife housing as much-loved Kingdom chair steps down
It was the end of an era after the chair of Fife’s largest housing association stepped down.
Linda Leslie joined Kingdom Housing Association board in 2015 and was appointed chair in 2021. During her time, she oversaw huge changes at the organisation.
As Fife’s largest housing association and one of Scotland’s leading affordable housing providers, the Kingdom Group developed and progressed under her leadership.
She saw it move forward with development plans while adapting to ever-evolving sector demands – over the past five years, Kingdom has gone from owning and managing 5372 homes to now being responsible for more than 7500, staff numbers have grown from more than 400 to almost 600, while Kingdom Works, the Fife-based employability project, has helped close to 1600 people back into work.
Despite Scotland being in a declared housing emergency, 1100 homeless households have also found a home of their own with Kingdom since 2021.
Linda joined the association after a long career in housing management, regulation, policy and legislation. That experience helped drive the considerable progress made during her time in the role.
She said: “It has been an enormous privilege to serve at Kingdom. My time here has been fulfilling, rewarding, sometimes challenging, but we have worked together with dedication and the shared goal to make lives better and provide safe, warm and affordable homes across Scotland.
“I have absolutely no doubt that everyone within the Group will keep working hard to deliver ambitious plans, keeping the communities we serve at the heart of every decision.”
Tom Barclay, Kingdom Group chief executive, added: “Linda has chaired the board with compassion and dedication. We couldn’t have asked for more, and we’ve been incredibly honoured to have her guiding us through the past five years. She has led our work to allow thousands of people not just to live and survive, but to thrive, and her contribution will be felt for years to come.”