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08
Feb
Man who reviewed loss-making council housing company becomes its MD
North Yorkshire Council has appointed the man who conducted an independent review into its loss-making housing company, as its new managing director.
Tony Dodds, who published a review of Brierley Homes last year, was appointed after the council carried out a recruitment process in January.
Brierley Homes, which was founded in 2017, is part of the Brierley Group of 12 companies owned by the council and oversees housing developments across the county, including in the Harrogate district.
The firm, which reported a £3.2 million loss last year, has faced issues over cashflow and has recently been reliant on council loans to "allow the company time for sales to be received”.
The managing director role comes with a salary of between £100,545 to £111,533, according to a council job advert.
Previous managing director Stuart Ede's position was terminated last month according to Companies House.
Mr Dodds, who previously ran Northumberland-based Tony Dodds Consulting, carried out a review of Brierley Homes which was published in September 2025.
Houses built by Brierley Homes, the council-owned housing company.
At the time, council officials commissioned an independent external review of the company’s operating model, structure, financial position and resilience.
The review came amid criticism from opposition councillors that the firm was reliant on large sums of money from the authority.
Mr Dodds said in his report that Brierley Homes was a business which is based on a “sound operating model” and had “an achievable goal” to build new homes for profit.
He added that the company had endured a difficult trading period and “poor project management”.
Mr Dodds said:
It has endured a difficult initial trading period with global impacts, disappointing contractor performance and some poor project management leading to cost overruns, project delays and an erosion of profits.
It now faces high debt levels, delays in crystalising shareholder value and criticisms for its unpredictable performance.
Despite this the company is delivering high quality projects with a pipeline and forecast to deliver Shareholder Value over the medium term. Structures and systems are being improved, and more certainty is being provided over delivery programmes and costs.
Mr Dodds concluded that the the company had a “positive impact” on the county and there was “no reason” to cease trading the firm or change its operating model.
He made a range of recommendations, which included review of the company’s loan terms, use of private sector funding structure and a change of the firm’s project appraisals.
Loans and cashflow
The move comes as Brierley Homes, which reported a £3.2 million loss last year, has come under scrutiny from councillors over its reliance on council loans.
In September last year, senior councillors backed a proposal to increase a £25 million council loan facility to £27 million to provide Brierley Homes with further financial headroom.
Mr Fielding said at the September meeting that he would receive weekly cashflow reports from the company as part of “additional due diligence”.
He said the weekly reports would “ensure there is stronger due diligence” into the firm.
Last month, the council approved a £400,000 draw down from the £27 million loan facility.
Meanwhile, in July 2025, the council also granted a £1.4 million loan to the housing company to assist it with cashflow while it delivered affordable housing and to "allow the company time for sales to be received”.
The council said the loan, which is separate to the loan facility, will be repaid with base rate interest instead of on commercial terms.
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