Andy was born and raised in Hartlepool. He brings a wealth of experience in housing and community support to our North East region.
He started his career as a housing officer in the probation service. Andy has worked extensively with vulnerable groups. For example, supporting rehabilitation across domestic violence, drink driving, and substance abuse. He later moved into adult skills training and apprenticeships. Then, joined Home Group where his passion for building strong, supportive communities continues.
What are some of your key achievements as regional director of the North East region?
We know how difficult the housing crisis has been across the country, and the North East is no different. That is why it is so important that our homes are doing just that; being homes.
A focus has been to reduce the number of void (empty) homes. Because our teams work together really well now, our homes spend less time empty than they used to. We all want the same thing: more customers in more homes.
How do you engage with customers and communities? How does that influence your priorities?
It is so important that we are always talking to our customers. We focus on what matters to customers through:
- Tenant satisfaction measures
- Viewpoint forums
- Direct feedback
We look closely at complaints and what causes them, so we can address the root issues. As a result, we’ve strengthened our maintenance service and increased our visibility on our estates.
We have several supported accommodation services in our region. The customers here are often some of the most vulnerable people in our communities. We are developing our services to support them and their changing needs.
Spending more time in our communities helps us to act sooner and give customers better support. It means we can see and experience the same things our customers do on their estates. This helps to prevent some issues from occurring altogether. And, prevents other small issues from growing into much bigger problems. It helps us to build trust with our customers.
What are the main things customers in your region should know?
We are incredibly proud to be working in the North East.
I want customers to know that my focus is to make sure that everything we do improves their experiences. Providing good quality homes and services is the reason Home Group exists. I want to continue to add to the mission and make the North East stronger.