East Midlands Community Led Housing

Martin Field is a full-time Community-Led Housing Facilitator with East Midlands Community Led Housing, working to promote and enable community-led housing initiatives across the region. Previous career positions have included senior posts with housing and planning responsibilities in local and regional public authorities; managerial roles in the housing association sector, and other ‘enabling’ roles in the community sector.

Martin has had a long-term engagement in community-led projects, both as promoter, advocate and practitioner, living in an inner-city housing co-operative; helped to complete a small self-build scheme in Leicester; served as a Board member of various national bodies across the CLH-sector; and produced papers and books about the community-led housing sector. Before the current post he worked in academic roles, associated with Northampton, De Montfort and the Open University, and has a further book on the kinds of projects found in the CLH sector under commission.

Debbie Seaborn began working in June as part time community-led housing facilitator with East Midlands Community-Led Housing, working to promote and enable community-led housing initiatives across the region. She has completed the professional training for the role run by Community Led Homes and accredited by the Chartered Institute of Housing.
The training and her work with EMCLH builds on her extensive paid and voluntary experience, most recently as a Grants Officer with the National Lottery Heritage Fund, where she was responsible for a variety of capital and revenue projects throughout the East Midlands. This has given her a good understanding of the process and pitfalls of implementing large capital projects managed by voluntary organisations, and of the various professional inputs that need to be commissioned and co-ordinated.
Previous roles with Cumbria County Council and the London Boroughs of Islington and Hammersmith and Fulham have given her in-depth knowledge of the workings of local and government, in urban and rural settings. She has built considerable experience of working constructively with a wide range of stakeholders including voluntary sector partners, always with a focus on reaching agreement so as to move forward effectively and to time.
Debbie is a qualified teacher with experience in training adults as well as teaching children. Outside work she is an active member of Nottingham Co-Housing and of Waste Nott, a group of volunteers running a zero waste shop, and Treasurer of her local community centre.

Julie Perkins is a part-time Business Support Assistant with East Midlands Community Led Housing, supporting two Facilitators working to promote and enable community led housing in the East Midlands region. Previously, Julie has  worked in the Business Travel Sector as Branch Manager and Account Manager,  responsible for  the  contract management of business travel for large companies based around the UK.