Great Places appoints new chair

News13.11.2311.30 AM by Stephen Delahunty

Manchester-based Great Places Housing Group has appointed a new chair as the incumbent’s term is coming to an end.

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Manchester-based Great Places Housing Group has appointed a new chair as the incumbent’s term is coming to an end #UKhousing

Mervyn Jones has been appointed to take on the role from 1 January 2024 as Tony Davison’s tenure as chair is coming to an end.

This is because there are limits on how long people are able to serve on the board under Great Places’ code of governance.

Therefore Mr Davidson will step down at the end of December, after joining the board at the 25,000-home association in September 2013 and taking over as chair in December of that year.

Great Places explained that it decided to recruit a new chair from the existing board for continuity, and felt it was important that the new chair already understands the organisation.

The landlord has credited Mr Davidson with overseeing a lot of change and growth within Great Places during his tenure, including the merger with Equity in 2020.

“Since joining us following the Equity merger, Mervyn has been a fantastic asset on the board and two of our committees. [He] brings a wealth of experience from the housing sector, which will be extremely valuable in guiding the organisation through the next stages of its journey. I cannot think of safer hands to leave the organisation in.”

Mr Jones has had a long career in the sector, most recently as chief executive of Yorkshire Housing, a position which he held for over 10 years. Prior to this, he was chief executive at Willow Park Housing Trust in Wythenshawe, as well as sitting on a number of housing-related boards as a non-executive member.

Mr Jones said: “I am delighted to have been selected by my peers as the new chair of Great Places from 2024 onwards. It has been an extremely challenging few years since I’ve joined the organisation with the pandemic, the economic situation and dramatic changes in the regulation of the sector.

“However, I’ve been continually impressed by how the Great Places Board and colleagues have worked to meet those challenges. I’d particularly like to thank the outgoing chair, Tony Davison, for his strong leadership over the last decade here as chair and for the contribution he has made to the organisation.

“I’m looking forward to continuing this excellent work alongside the board and executive team going forward as we develop our new corporate plan and set out our ambitions for the coming years.”

Great Places also announced that Emma Mountford, chair of Cube Homes, has also been appointed to the landlord’s board, while fellow board member Patrick Ricketts has been appointed chair of the new customer committee.

The changes comes as Great Places revealed in September that it had revised its delivery target with Homes England due to “challenging markets” and increased cost pressures.

The landlord originally secured £240.8m in grant funding to deliver 4,920 homes by 2028. It has now revised this delivery target down to 4,500 at an increased grant level of £270m.