My friend Richard Crossley, who has died aged 64, was the first chief executive of the National Tenant Voice. Richard led the work of the Department for Communities and Local Government on setting up the quango, which was designed by the last Labour government to increase the influence of social tenants. Subsequently he was appointed its chief executive, but was hardly in post before the coalition abolished it.
A civil engineering graduate from Nottingham University, Richard chose a career in community development but had no interest in climbing the greasy pole. He loved working with people and realising the potential of community leaders in deprived neighbourhoods. He worked in Paddington, north London, and the Stonebridge Estate, Brent, and set up the Charteris Co-op, Islington, and Belle Isle tenant management scheme in Leeds. He later worked for the Priority Estates Project, advising tenants across the north of England.
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