South West landlord appoints sector veteran to newly created role

At Connexus, Mr Bannister served in the role of land, development and regeneration manager from 2018.

Prior to this, he held senior positions at Herefordshire Housing, which merged with Shropshire Housing Association to form Connexus in 2017. 

Mr Bannister started his career on the tools as a carpenter at Hereford City Council and has had a career in property repairs and maintenance that spans more than 40 years. 

During this time, he has worked as site manager, property surveyor, repairs and maintenance manager, and investments manager.

Jonny Jones, executive director of homes at Two Rivers, said: “We know that the repair and maintenance of our homes is really important to our tenants, and while our overall score for repairs in our tenant satisfaction measures is good at 80%, there is still room for improvement.

“Since joining the executive team in July, I’ve been speaking to tenants and the team about what we can do to improve the service. 

“Bringing in someone to lead and support the repairs team will make sure that there is a real focus on developing the service and improving our internal processes to drive efficiencies and create a better approach to how repairs are managed and delivered.”

Mr Jones added that Mr Bannister has worked at “all levels of the repairs and maintenance sector” and “has a deep knowledge and understanding of the housing sector”.

“But most importantly, he is committed to supporting and developing his team so that they can deliver the best service for our tenants,” he said.

Mr Bannister said: “I’m delighted to be joining Two Rivers Housing and can’t wait to get to know the team over the next few weeks. 

“This is an exciting time to join the team and I’m looking forward to supporting them and helping to create a first-class repairs service for our tenants.”

In July, Two Rivers announced the appointment of a new deputy chief executive as part of a management shake-up.