About us

About Us

Affordable homes for working households

Meridian Home Start is a Community Benefit Society and independent of the Council. This initiative, together with other initiatives such as the Council's own Local Authority New Build programme, represents a significant opportunity for the Royal Borough to achieve its objective of increasing the supply of affordable housing in the borough.

Meet the Board

Meet our Board of Directors, a group of professionals with extensive experience in property and housing. Their varied backgrounds in real estate, development, and management bring valuable insights that guide our strategic decisions. Together, they are committed to driving innovation and excellence in our organization.

Chairman

Stephen Stringer

Stephen Stringer is an experienced Chair and Non-Executive Director with extensive expertise in housing, regeneration and public policy. He has a strong track record of leading governance improvement, organisational transformation and strategic growth across registered housing providers.

Stephen also serves as Chairman of Salvation Army Homes, a nationwide provider of supported and general needs housing. Until September 2025, Stephen was Chair of Fairhive Homes Limited, overseeing the transformation of the organisation into a modern, customer-focused housing provider. Previously, as Chair of Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association, he strengthened governance and board diversity while improving delivery of affordable housing. Earlier in his career, Stephen held senior roles in central government, including leadership of major housing and regeneration programmes.

Vice Chair & Company Secretary

Tony Evans

Tony retired in 2016 after a career of over 40 years in public service in inner London in education and in local government.

Since then he has been Vice Chair and Company Secretary on the Board of Meridian Home Start Ltd, building and managing below-market rent properties in the Royal Borough of Greenwich.

He has been a Trustee of two Arts and Crafts heritage trusts and is currently a Trustee of the William Morris Society.

He has undertaken a number of volunteer roles both in social care and sporting settings and he is currently Treasurer of a charity aimed at opening up sporting opportunities for people experiencing cancer.

Non-Executive Director

George Cronin

A former Managing Director with 25 years’ experience with two national housebuilding companies, George has a background in finance and accounting, gained predominantly within the construction industry. Since retiring, George has served as a Non-Executive Director at Aldwyck Housing and Lea Valley Developments. Prior to joining Meridian Home Start, George was a member of the Catalyst Housing development committee. .

Non-Executive Director

Emma Peters

Emma has over 30 years’ experience working with local authorities, registered providers and the private sector in senior roles to share her expertise in regeneration, housing delivery and housing finance. Emma is a former Director of Inner Circle Consulting, where she built upon her previous experience as a consultant with Regenfirst working with the London Borough of Waltham Forest, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and Genesis Housing Association to name a few.

Emma holds a MPhil Town & Country Planning from The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. With a robust skill set that includes Management Consulting, Change Management, Policy, Public Sector, Urban Regeneration and more. Emma is currently a non-Executive Director at Rent Plus Homes as well as Meridian Home Start.

Non-Executive Director

Bernadette Marjoram

Bernadette has over 40 years local authority and third sector experience, including Chief Executive and Senior Executive Director roles across London and the UK. Her experience includes corporate & service transformation and change, regeneration, housing, environmental services & planning. She founded her own consultancy in 2002, undertaking Chief Executive & senior executive interim roles, various consultancy roles , as well as being a senior executive mentor/ coach. She has also undertaken various Non Executive Chair and Board level roles for over 40 years across many sectors including Health, Education as well as Housing.

Meet the Executive Team

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Chief Executive Officer

Paul Yates

Paul is an experienced senior housing leader with a strong track record of leading regulated housing organisations through periods of growth, transformation and service improvement. Having operated at Chief Executive and Executive Director level, he brings extensive expertise in housing operations, governance, regulatory compliance and organisational leadership.

With experience spanning both large national providers and smaller specialist organisations, Paul combines strategic leadership with a practical, values-led approach, strengthening performance, building effective partnerships and supporting teams to deliver positive outcomes for residents and communities. His appointment marks an exciting new chapter for Meridian Home Start, bringing fresh energy, strong leadership and a clear focus on delivering lasting social impact.

Director of Housing Services

Donna Morelli

Donna Morelli is a senior housing executive with over 20 years’ experience leading complex housing services across local government and the social housing sector. She has a proven track record in delivering strategic transformation, strengthening performance and ensuring compliance across large housing portfolios.

With expertise spanning housing management, asset management, building safety, repairs and resident engagement, Donna is recognised for driving organisational change, enhancing governance and delivering investment programmes while maintaining a strong customer focus.

As Director of Housing Services at Meridian Home Start Ltd, she provides executive leadership across all housing functions, leading service improvement, strengthening performance frameworks and supporting strategic growth in partnership with Boards and senior stakeholders

Executive Assistant

Alison Grant

Alison Grant is an experienced executive support professional with over 14 years’ expertise delivering high-quality administrative and PA services. She is known for her strong organisational skills, attention to detail and ability to provide seamless support to senior leaders in fast-paced environments.

Her expertise includes complex diary and travel management, meeting coordination, minute taking and document management, along with supporting senior stakeholders and managing competing priorities effectively. Alison also brings flexible, solutions-focused approach through her work as a virtual assistant and tour manager, where she handled logistics, systems and budgets with precision.

Reliable, proactive and highly organised, Alison is committed to ensuring smooth operations and delivering efficient, professional support.