Two Rivers Housing has appointed Andrew Bannister to the newly created role of assistant director of repairs.

Andrew has joined the Two Rivers Housing team from Connexus Homes, where he had held the position of Land, Development and Regeneration Manager since 2018. Prior to this he held senior positions at Herefordshire Housing, which merged with Shropshire Housing Association to form Connexus in 2017.

He 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 a Site Manager, Property Surveyor, Repairs and Maintenance Manager and Investments Manager – giving him real in depth knowledge of running repairs and maintenance teams.

The newly created role of Assistant Director of Repairs forms part of a restructure of the Two Rivers Housing repairs and maintenance teams. It is part of a drive to improve repairs and maintenance services for tenants by the new executive team.

In 2024, Two Rivers Housing published its first set of Tenant Satisfaction Measures. Overall, 80% of tenants said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the repairs service they received, but new Executive Director of Homes Jonny Jones is determined to keep improving the service.

“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 per cent, 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.

“Andrew 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.” Jonny added.

Reflecting on his appointment, Andrew 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 then and helping to create a first-class repairs service for our tenants.”

The Two Rivers Housing Group provides affordable housing for more than 4,600 families in the Forest of Dean and Gloucestershire and has pledged to build 1,000 new affordable homes in the local area between 2018 and 2028. As of 31 March 2024, it had built 687 and remains on target to deliver its pledge.

In 2020, the Group received its largest ever private investment, securing £130m to help fund its development programme and invest in its homes and neighbourhoods.