In September 2025, we announced that we had entered talks with Watford Community Housing over a potential merger, which would create a new customer-focused Community Gateway housing association.
As part of the dicsusion we undertook an in-depth resident consultation, which ran from November 2025 to 1 February 2026. This gave all residents the chance to give us feedback and help to shape the new organisation.
To make sure the consultation was fair, transparent and inclusive, we partnered with Tpas – The Tenant Engagement Experts. Tpas is an independent tenant engagement specialist with over 30 years of experience helping residents to have a meaningful voice in decisions that affect their homes and communities.
We hosted a range of online and in-person engagement sessions, as well as a survey for customers to complete online or by post. People were offered a range of ways to share their feedback with us.
Here are some of the key findings from the consultation:
- In total 766 households engaged with us, representing around 5% of the homes owned and managed by Thrive Homes and Watford Community Housing.
- 75% of residents said that the information we communicated about the merger was ‘somewhat’ or ‘very’ clear, showing that people understood the proposal.
- 58% of residents were either positive or neutral about the merger.
- Repairs, service quality and trust ranked among the most prevalent concerns identified by residents. For leaseholders, the cost of major works and long-term financial implications were the main concerns.
- Better-informed residents tended to be more positive about the merger – people who were clear about the proposal were more confident and optimistic.
- Overall, residents are cautiously optimistic, seeing the potential for increased resilience and investment.
- Residents wanted reassurance that we wouldn’t lose touch with local communities, and a commitment to resident-led governance and good communication.