Emma Palmer, Chief Executive of Eastlight Community Homes, is to step down from her role on 24 June 2026, after eight years with the social landlord.

During her time at Eastlight Emma has led a period of significant growth and transformation. Most notably, she oversaw the creation of Eastlight in 2020, bringing together Colne Housing and Greenfields Community Housing, where she was chief executive, during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Under Emma’s leadership, Eastlight has grown from around 12,500 homes to nearly 15,000 through a combination of development, including Eastlight-led development, and acquisitions. In total, the organisation has delivered almost 2,000 new homes since it was formed and continues to invest in both new and existing properties.

She has been central to building a strong, resident-led organisation, including the introduction of the Customer Influence Committee, which puts residents at the heart of Eastlight’s governance, and the launch of the Resident Members’ Charter, a formal commitment built into Eastlight’s rules that strengthens how residents can influence services, decisions and hold the organisation to account.

The social landlord has maintained high performance during this time, retaining G1 governance and V1 financial viability ratings, alongside achieving its first C2 Consumer grading. Overall resident satisfaction, measured by Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs), has also increased to 75.5%, reflecting improvements across services, with satisfaction rising across all TSMs between 2024–25 and 2025–26.

A key transformation under Emma’s leadership has been the introduction of the My Eastlight Team model. This place-based approach provides residents with local, dedicated neighbourhood teams, enabling faster responses, stronger relationships and more personalised services within communities.

Emma has also championed inclusion and accessibility. In September 2025, she was appointed as the UK’s Disability and Access Ambassador for Housing, where she is helping to improve accessibility across the sector.

Emma Palmer, who has also stepped down from her position as an Eastlight board member, said: “I’m so proud of everything the team at Eastlight has achieved and the organisation it has become. I know that I’m leaving it in a great place – an ambitious organisation that’s fit for the future. For me, the time has come to move on and I’m very thankful to Eastlight’s Board for the time and space they’ve given me to come to this decision.”

Hattie Llewelyn-Davies, Chair of Eastlight, who sadly passed away on 23 May, was due to reach the end of her maximum term in September this year, and recruitment for her replacement was already underway. Chris Cheshire, an existing board member, has been appointed interim chair until a permanent chair is appointed.

Chris said: “Emma is stepping down for personal and very understandable reasons and will always remain a hugely important person to all of us at Eastlight. I want to say thank you to Emma for all the great commitment, expertise and energy she has put into our organisation over the years. She and Hattie made Eastlight what it is today, and we will work hard to ensure we build on their legacies.”

Emma’s successor will be confirmed in due course. In the meantime, Dan Jones, Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Information Officer, has become Acting Chief Executive.

Emma, who has been committed to a career in housing since she was a teenager, will continue working in the sector, including continuing in her role as a board member at A2Dominion.