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New 13,500-home community landlord to be created following merger
A 13,500-home community gateway housing association will be created in June from the merger of Watford Community Housing and Thrive Homes.
New 13,500-home community landlord to be created following merger #UKhousingA 13,500-home community gateway housing association will be created in June from the merger of Watford Community Housing and Thrive Homes #UKhousingThe Hertfordshire-based landlords confirmed this week that they would be joining forces after revealing they were in merger talks last autumn.
The pair have made several commitments about how they will operate in future based on feedback from a tenant survey.
Key pledges include improving the repairs service and tenants’ access to information, using corporate savings to keep local bases and bring in more resident-facing staff, and providing opportunities for residents to influence how the landlord is run.
Hattie Llewelyn-Davies, who was appointed chair designate of the new landlord last year, said: “Uniting our two organisations gives us the scale and stability to meet the challenges facing social housing today.
“Residents have been clear about their priorities, and this merger enables us to deliver them with pace and ambition.
“We are creating an organisation with strong local roots, a clear social purpose and the capacity to provide high-quality homes and services for the long term.”
Paul Richmond, chief executive of Thrive Homes and chief executive designate of the new housing association, said: “This merger is about building a stronger, more resilient organisation that delivers better services and more opportunities for the people we exist to support.
“By bringing together the strengths of Thrive Homes and Watford Community Housing, we can invest more in repairs, improve the experience for our residents, and build more affordable homes in the communities we know well.
“Residents have been central to creating the priorities for our new organisation, and they will continue to play a vital role through the community gateway model.”
The announcement comes days after Watford Community Housing completed an £100m refinancing deal with Santander, which included £50m of new funding.
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