Launch of new housing group for Staffordshire and Shropshire

Housing Plus Group and Stafford and Rural Homes have officially merged today (1 October 2019), launching a new housing, care and property group for Staffordshire and Shropshire.

The Group will own and manage approximately 18,000 homes. Employing up to 800 people locally, it will have an annual turnover of almost £100m.

Housing Plus Group has pledged to begin building 2,000 new homes by 2023. It is committed to delivering one-third more hours of care and support and to creating 100 new apprenticeships within the next five years. It has also made a promise to remain accountable to its customers, with a customer voice at board level.

The launch of the new Group was marked with the announcement it will be joining regional partners to combat some of the biggest challenges facing our communities.

As part of the influential Creating Our Future programme, Housing Plus Group will access match funding to invest in ground-breaking projects such as Hacking Homelessness which will help housing associations to support people at risk of eviction.

Chief executive Sarah Boden celebrated the first day of the merged Group with staff at the Stafford and Rural Homes office in Beaconside, Stafford. She said:

“Separately, our organisations do fantastic work in local communities. Together, we will do more. We are setting out today with a very clear objective to change lives, support neighbourhoods and create real opportunities for the employees who make that possible.”

Video

In this short film chief executive Sarah Boden, along with Housing Plus Group chair Alison Hadden and some of people working in the merged group, explain what the launch of the new housing group means to them, to our customers and to local communities.

Photograph
Housing Plus Group chief executive Sarah Boden (centre) is pictured celebrating the launch of the new group with Hayley Murphy, independent living manager at Stafford and Rural Homes and William Douglas, apprentice bricklayer.