Berwickshire Housing Association director will by convention then become president in 2026
Evie Copland has been elected vice-president of the Chartered Institute of Housing.
Copland, director of customer and communities at Berwickshire Housing Association (BHA), received 47 per cent of votes in a ballot of the CIH’s membership.
Copland will serve as vice-president for 12 months from October and will then, by convention, succeed Julie Haydon as president in October 2026.
She was elected ahead of rival candidates Katrina Henshaw, Hony Premlal, Paul Smith and Thomas Sutton.
Copland’s work in the sector started in 2011, when she joined Dumfries & Galloway Housing Partnership. She initially worked in communications before becoming a housing officer in 2020. She briefly worked at the Scottish Housing Regulator as an analyst before joining BHA in 2022.
In her election manifesto (see in full below) Copland said if elected she would dedicate her campaign to “collaborating on new solutions to increase the supply of homes”. She said this could include developing a “sector toolkit to showcase solutions to repurpose existing buildings, funding mechanisms and case studies”.
She said: “I was raised on a Scottish council estate; my mum and dad still live there today. As a kid, my family was decanted while major investment was carried out, transforming our home with double glazing and central heating for the first time.
“I don’t remember much of the housing professionals who made this happen, but they had a significant impact on my life. This story is fundamental to my passion and desire to improving housing and solving the housing emergency in Scotland and beyond.”
Copland will become vice-president in October, when current vice -president Julie Haydon, director of corporate services at Wolverhampton Homes, steps up to succeed Peabody’s Elly Hoult as president.
Evie Copland’s election manifesto
“To my fellow members of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH),
“I’ve spent the last ten years as a proud CIH member and the last five of those dreaming of writing this statement to be considered for the next vice president.
“I was raised on a Scottish council estate; my mum and dad still live there today. As a kid, my family was decanted while major investment was carried out, transforming our home with double glazing and central heating for the first time.
“I don’t remember much of the housing professionals who made this happen, but they had a significant impact on my life. This story is fundamental to my passion and desire to improving housing and solving the housing emergency in Scotland and beyond.
”Joining CIH was a turning point in my career, giving me a platform and community. I started volunteering and advocating for members on the CIH Scotland board, governing board, committees, and as a founding member and former chair of CIH Futures. I worked on various campaigns to attract and retain members, including the under-30s concessional rate with CIH Futures colleagues in 2017. The work I led with CIH Futures around equality and diversity, building a board of outstanding young professionals’ representative of the sector in terms of gender and ethnicity, was a standout moment that I’m still immensely proud of.
“My work and contributions have been recognised through various awards and accolades, including the Malcolm Smith award for academic achievement in housing policy and notable sector lists. I’ve also completed both masters and postgraduate housing CIH-accredited programmes.
”Outside of work, I was a founder and former chair of Midsteeple Quarter in Dumfries set up to ‘buy back the high street’, securing multiple buildings into community ownership for community-led housing (CLH) provision in the heart of my hometown. I also chair SOSCH, a leading CLH enabler in Scotland.
If elected, I’d dedicate my campaign to collaborating on new solutions to increase the supply of homes. This could include developing a sector toolkit to showcase solutions to repurpose existing buildings, funding mechanisms and case studies to share alternative tenures
“I’m ambitious for the sector and make no apologies for this – I aspire to work in a society where street homelessness is a thing of the past and where children aren’t going to sleep cold, hungry or in temporary accommodation, and have the security of a place for their family to call home.
“If elected, I’d dedicate my campaign to collaborating on new solutions to increase the supply of homes. This could include developing a sector toolkit to showcase solutions to repurpose existing buildings, funding mechanisms and case studies to share alternative tenures and how to make them happen.
“Critically, this would also be to fundraise for Shelter, Shelter Scotland, Shelter Cymru and Housing Rights in Northern Ireland. Their work to lobby for desperately needed social homes and provision of free and impartial advice across tenures is needed now more than ever.
“I believe I can inspire other housing professionals and hope this statement gives you some insight, my LinkedIn is here. For me, achievements mean nothing without operational experience and contribution to back them up. Thank you for considering me, it would be my honour if successful.”
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