Rochdale Boroughwide Housing is to plough a further £45m into improving its existing homes after telling a former top exec her role is ‘no longer needed’. The landlord was shamed over the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak last year, after an inquest found he died as a direct result of ‘extensive’ black mould at his RBH home on the town’s Freehold estate.
The tragedy led to the sacking of RBH chief executive Gareth Swarbrick, whose interim replacement - Yvonne Arrowsmith - was tasked with turning the housing association around. Ms Arrowsmith set out details of a two-year ‘recovery plan’ earlier this year - including spending £2m on a damp and mould ‘taskforce’ and £1.2m on improving ventilation at the Freehold estate alone.
And in a significant development, RBH has now announced that it will be investing a further £45 million in its existing homes over the next five years. It comes as the organisation confirmed it had parted ways with former top executive Clare Tostevin.
