Introducing CDA Director John Swanton, with experience in housing and parish ministry

As the CDA begins to move forward with emerging projects and community focused development plans, we are glad to introduce John Swanton as a CDA Director, who brings over 25 years of housing experience and ten years of parish leadership to the role.

"The Church is seen as having one of the largest amounts of land in the country,” John said. “That gives the church community a real opportunity to be part of the housing solution. At the same time, many parishioners are quietly and diligently doing excellent work in their local communities. That grassroots effort, combined with the Church’s resources, means we can create homes and communities that are supported and rooted locally, and that are able to be strong and connected in the long-term."

John’s housing career began with Stonham Housing Association, where he stepped into the role of Development Officer fresh out of college. Though he didn’t feel conventionally qualified at the time - having studied for a degree in community studies - the organisation’s scale and culture allowed him to grow quickly.

He was soon working across supported housing schemes for young people, people experiencing homelessness, ex-offenders, and adults with learning difficulties. It was here that he first saw how housing could change lives in a direct and practical way. “We were building homes and providing support,” he said. “You could see the difference immediately.”

As he moved deeper into the sector, he developed significant experience in rural housing. He worked at Waverley Borough Council as Assistant Director of Housing where he helped deliver one of the largest programmes of affordable rural housing in the country at the time. These were small, carefully shaped schemes - often only a handful of homes - designed specifically for local people in villages.

“I was very proud of the schemes we did, where a local teacher, a shop worker, a mechanic, and even a retiring police officer who was losing his police-provided house were all given homes in ‘their village’. It’s all about keeping communities stable and inclusive, respecting their history, and giving young people the chance to stay in the community where they grew up.”

Alongside his housing work, John followed a long-held sense of vocation. “I was raised in a loving but relatively poor family in Southampton. It was the local close-knit church that gave me opportunities to experience things and go to places that I would never have had the chance to see or do. I very much felt like part of a church family, and I’ve always valued that about the church.”

He became ordained around 30 years ago. “At about the age of 26 or 27, I started exploring my vocation. The chairman of the housing association I was working for at the time, who was the local vicar, encouraged me to do this. Doors started opening for me; I started my training and became ordained. While working at Waverley Borough Council, I served as a spare pair of hands in three parishes just outside of Guildford.”

He later committed fully to parish ministry, serving a decade as Rector of the South Cotswolds until he retired in April in 2025. “I loved being the local vicar. It gave me the chance to be part of people’s lives, to build community, and to encourage hope and stability. But I felt it was the right time to step back from parish ministry and devote more time to helping with projects supporting housing for people. Housing is a crisis at the moment. There’s a lot of talk, but not enough action.”

John currently serves as an independent member of Stone Circle Housing Company in Wiltshire, supporting the delivery of homes for key workers and people on local housing needs registers. He is also a strong advocate for rural housing, maintaining a keen interest in organisations such as English Rural Housing Association.

“I hope I can help to deliver homes in the communities where they’re most needed and help those communities to welcome new residents. A church-supported community is one where people know their neighbours, have chances to come together, and enjoy stability and care for one another - things that often go unnoticed. That’s what I hope to contribute at the CDA, combining my experience in housing with the values I’ve learned through ministry.”