New Executive Directors appointed at Plymouth Community Homes in organisational restructure

Plymouth Community Homes, the largest social housing association in the city, has announced two new senior appointments to its Executive Management team as part of an organisational restructure to improve how it delivers services to residents.

Chris Brook has been appointed to the newly created role of Executive Director of Place and joins PCH in January 2026 to lead the combined departments for development, asset management, strategy and delivery, and commercial revenue.

This role was created to help support local delivery of a major investment in Plymouth and the surrounding area, with Plymouth recommended by the New Towns Commission as one of just 12 places to be taken forward as part of the Government’s next generation of ‘new towns’. The city also recently launched Team Plymouth, a united partnership of government, industry, education and civic leaders working together to maximise the impact of Plymouth’s designation as a National Defence Growth Area, and Plymouth City Council has agreed a partnership with Homes England with ambitions to deliver at least 10,000 new homes locally.

Michelle Dawson was confirmed as a permanent appointment to the Executive Director of Homes and Communities post earlier this year, having served in the role as an interim since November 2024, and leads the departments for neighbourhoods and tenancy management, income and lettings support, customer experience, repairs and compliance, building safety, communities and partnerships.

Michelle and Chris join Nick Jackson, Executive Director of Business Services, on the Executive management team alongside Chief Executive Jonathan Cowie, who took up post in September 2023.

Gill Martin, PCH’s Executive Director of Corporate Services, recently announced her intention to retire at the end of 2025 following 44 years of service, initially with Plymouth City Council before a stock transfer led to the formation of Plymouth Community Homes in 2009. Following Gill’s decision to retire, an organisational restructure was carried out to align departments with shared functions and create a more effective operating model to enable service improvements.

A new role has been created of Chief People Officer to lead strategic cultural transformation, organisational development and corporate strategy for PCH, managing the teams for people and culture, communications and external affairs, and strategy, data and insight. 

Jonathan Cowie, Chief Executive of PCH, said: “It’s a really exciting time for the organisation as we look to refresh our strategic business plan and develop ambitious new objectives to improve the services we offer and expand on the number of new affordable homes we can deliver across the South West to help meet social housing need and support the vision for Plymouth being championed by Plymouth City Council.

“I’m absolutely delighted we have appointed Chris to join us as our new Executive Director of Place, bringing with him a wealth of experience, knowledge and strong stakeholder relationships to help us drive forward our Growth Strategy and regeneration work, alongside increasing major investment in our existing homes.

“Michelle Dawson has had a huge impact at PCH since she joined the organisation, bringing together all of our operating teams in the Homes and Communities directorate, and Michelle is doing an incredible job of helping us to make major improvements and positive changes to the services we provide to our residents, from their first point of contact through to the housing management, repairs and community support they may need during their tenancy.

“We’re now looking for a Chief People Officer to support PCH on our journey to expand and improve our staff engagement and increase our focus on people and culture.”

Before joining PCH, Michelle Dawson worked for more than 20 years in roles driving transformative change across multiple sectors and has worked in housing since 2007 with a focus on community empowerment, customer service and regeneration.

Most recently, Michelle was the Director of Housing and Community Investment for major South West social housing provider Abri. Previous roles include serving as a Director for the Battersea Academy of Skills Excellence to regenerate the iconic Battersea Power Station.

Michelle Dawson, Executive Director of Homes & Communities at PCH, said: “I had such a warm welcome from the moment I arrived at PCH, and the months have flown by as I’ve worked on taking forward the delivery of our core objectives for the directorate.

“We’re now focusing in on the priorities as we shape a new business plan for the next five years. In the Operate directorate I lead, we are committed to ensuring PCH is meeting the Regulator of Social Housing’s Consumer Standards and providing safe, warm, well-maintained homes for our residents, as well as delivering really outstanding services. We’re also on a journey to better understand our residents so we can tailor services to meet individual needs.”

Chris Brook joins PCH in January 2026 from South Hams and West Devon District Councils, where he has been in post as the Director of Place and Enterprise since 2019, leading both authorities on all key placemaking and commercial asset activities. 

Chris, a chartered civil engineer, also has a strong technical and built environment background and worked as a Head of Assets and Engineering Manager for the two Devon district councils, as well as a Principal Engineer for Bristol City Council.

Chris Brook, Executive Director of Place at PCH, said: “I’ve been looking for an opportunity to align my commercial skills in a social value sector as I’m really motivated to deliver positive change for people and communities, so this new role at PCH is the perfect fit. 

“PCH is in a great position to play a key role in the work to reimagine the city of Plymouth as part of the bespoke plan with Plymouth City Council and Homes England to create 10,000 new homes in the city. If ever we could think differently about Plymouth, the time is now. 

“PCH is also in a sweet spot for new partnership opportunities across the wider South West region because of what the organisation stands for and the reputation it has for capacity, resilience, trust and delivery, so it’s a very exciting time to come on board.”