Steve Coffey, chief executive of growth and regeneration group Torus, has become the new chair of Homes for the North.

He succeeds Gentoo chief executive Nigel Wilson who held the position with the 17-strong alliance of homebuilding social housing associations for the past two years.

Having served as vice-chair during this time Steve will build on Homes for the North’s recent success lobbying government to end the 80/20 rule that directed 80 per cent of funding for housing supply to London and the south east.

Steve Coffey said:

“Homes for the North has made excellent progress giving the north a stronger voice with national policymakers and I am looking to build on this further during my tenure as chair at what is a pivotal time.

“Levelling up provides us with a fantastic opportunity to not only build more vital homes but use housing as the bedrock to regenerate towns and cities across the north of England.

“For true parity we need to address broader socio-economic factors by connecting housing to government policy in such a way that it creates genuine, sustainable change and improvement in communities.

“Good quality housing is the starting point to improve lives but there needs to be training and skills development that leads to sustainable employment opportunities and a perfect way of doing this is by tackling levelling up and the green agenda simultaneously.”

Steve’s career began in civil engineering prior to moving into the housing sector. He also worked for several local authorities before taking up a senior housing role in the west midlands at the start of the new millennium before returning to the Liverpool City Region some years later.

In 2008, he was appointed as the first chief executive of LMH, leading the large scale voluntary transfer of over 15,000 Liverpool City Council properties and in 2019 directed the merger of LMH and Torus creating a new 40,000-home association.

Steve has also held non-executive roles in the housing and health sectors together with membership of the CBI North West Regional Council.

He will be stepping down shortly from his role as chair of the National Housing Federation’s North West Regional Committee but will continue as vice-chair of its Sustainability Strategy Group.

Outgoing Homes for the North chair, Nigel Wilson, said:

“Homes for the North’s approach more recently has been to explain the huge opportunity our sector offers to any government committed to the north and to levelling up.

“Despite recent success there is always more to do and Steve will lead the group to new heights.”