Two major housing associations in the West of England have agreed to merge and are planning to invest millions of pounds in building new homes across the region.
United Communities, which manages more than 1,800 homes in Bristol and Swindon, and Solon South West, which looks after 1,300 homes in Bristol and South Gloucestershire, have agreed a tie up.
The organisations are expected to complete the merger in the spring of 2021 and are planning a £10million investment programme to build 500 new homes over the next five years.
They are also proposing a raft of improvements to the homes they already manage, they said, as well as running an apprenticeship programme for young people to develop builders, surveyors and housing officers.
United Communities’ chair James Taylor said: “This merger will have huge benefits for residents and communities as a whole across Bristol and the surrounding area.
“We are determined to do the very best for our communities and to build upon a recognition that we could achieve more together.”
Under the plans, people living in homes belonging to the association will be able to monitor the new organisation’s performance and determine the future through a new resident panel.
At least one resident will also be recruited onto the board of the new association, together with a number of community representatives.
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Solon South West chair Graham Oliver added: “We have listened carefully to what our residents have said throughout the consultation process.
“We are ready to take action and our new resident panel will ensure they play a key role in decision-making to ensure their voices are heard.
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“A range of important measures from a major overhaul of our customer service to improve residents’ experience, to an energy-efficiency programme that will reduce heating bills, there are lots of reasons for our residents to be enthusiastic about our future together.”
The merger was proposed last year by the organisations’ boards after research suggested that combining would result in the delivery of a better housing service to tenants and leaseholder customers.
The new housing association, operating under a new name, will be based at the current United Communities office in Eastville in Bristol.