Reflecting on 30+ years in housing: a farewell from Amanda Garrard

Amanda became the Chief Executive in 2019, and since then she’s led Berneslai Homes through many changes and successes, including Barnsley being the first local authority to receive the highest C1 grading from the Regulator of Social Housing.

As she prepares to hand over to Steve Feast, who will become the new Chief Executive on Wednesday 1 April, we wanted to share highlights from her housing career.

Q: What inspired you to start a career in housing?

“Well, I just fancied another two years as a student! I did a Geography degree, then there was this post-grad course being advertised, so I thought two more years as a student I can cope with that! But I had done some housing topics as part of the geography course so there was a genuine interest there.

“Unlike a lot of people I didn’t fall into housing, I actually chose housing. I did a student placement at Solihull Council doing a bit of everything, but after university my first job was at Barnsley Council as an Estate Management Officer at Royal Street.

 “So, it’s quite nice that my first and last job in housing will be here in Barnsley. When I came back for the interview for the Chief Exec role there were people here that I knew from 30 odd years ago – it felt like coming home.”

Q: What made you apply to work at Berneslai Homes?

“I’ve worked in other housing organisations and done all sorts of different things like stock transfer work, and I was at Calderdale for a while, but the best jobs I’ve had were where you worked in one local authority area.

“Barnsley’s local, it’s a place I know, and you get time to build relationships with people. I’d worked with the previous leaders in other jobs, it’s in a good location and Berneslai had a good reputation.”

Q: What would you say are the most important developments in the housing sector?

“The Decent Homes Standard is a big one. When Decent Homes came in the first time round it was a great opportunity for proper investment in housing stock. It was the first time the government had realised that we need to invest in housing stock, and that people needed great homes, good environments, and that there were lots of other reasons why you should do that like health and socio-economic factors.

“The technology’s changed, now everyone gets issued with computers, mobile phones, iPads, laptops – it’s a completely different world.

“When I first started at Barnsley Council when you wanted to get something done you had to write a memo on a piece of paper, send that out in the internal post and wait about a week for it to come back!” 

Q: What are the highlights from your time as Berneslai Homes Chief Executive?

“Being the first local authority to get a C1 rating was a big moment, and that’s all about what our colleagues do. I think there’s something really special about the people that work here.

“The tenancy support work we do is second to none. A lot of organisations stopped this type of work when rents were cut a few years ago, but we have such a dedicated team doing that and making a real difference to people’s lives.

“The Income team have done a fantastic job and turned that service around, the Repairs delivery teams provide a great service to tenants, the Customer Engagement team’s work with care leavers was exceptional, the Can Do Crew days have been brilliant and there’s so much more that I could mention.

“The other one for me was when we changed our values in 2022 – if we always put customers first, have a can-do attitude, and we’re professionally curious in what we do, we’ll stay on the right track. The culture here at Berneslai is one that I am very proud of.”

Q: If you had to leave stakeholders with one key message from you, what would it be?

“We can do much more working together than we can do on our own. We have some great opportunities with Barnsley Council, customers, other stakeholders, and partners from the Barnsley 2030 Board.

“We do good things on health, like working with the Yorkshire Smokefree Service and looking into damp and mould referrals. So, we have some really good examples of partnership working, but it’s just about how we can elevate that even further.”

Q: What’s next for you?

“We bought a campervan! We’re off for a whole month, up to the North of England first, then we’re doing part of the NC500 up round Scotland, then lots of other things planned for the rest of the year.

“After 38 years, I’m ready to step back and take a bit of time, then decide what I want to do next. I’m a real believer that organisations have cycles and it’s time for the next cycle for Berneslai Homes. Thank you to everyone who’s supported me along the way and you’re in safe hands with Steve starting on 1 April.”