Liverpool City Council has hired Andrew Leigh as its new director of housing to replace Louise Harford, who is currently acting as the local authority’s interim housing boss.

Leigh will join Liverpool City Council from Salford City Council, where he has been head of the housing strategy service for the past seven years.

In this role, he helped to establish the council’s local housing company Dérive in 2017 and oversaw the process of registering it as a subsidiary registered provider. Leigh has also been in charge of leading its £85m new build homes programme.