A housing association with customers in Sandbach has given its staff a pat on the back for helping it achieve top marks in a recent assessment.

Plus Dane has retained the highest possible grading from the Regulator of Social Housing, following its recent in-depth assessment.

The housing association has received confirmation of its G1 V1 status which comes seven months after Ian Reed took over the helm as chief executive.

And the chief executive has personally thanked staff for going "above and beyond" to ensure customers received first-class service during the pandemic.

The company has properties across Sandbach including a sheltered scheme in Lightley Court, Wheelock, bungalows at Commons Mill, Greenacres and Union Street, a mixture of bungalows, flats and houses in Hassall Green and a shared ownership scheme at Gilbert's Cross.

Chief executive, Ian Reed said: "It's been a really tough year on a lot of fronts which makes this achievement even more special.

"Since the start of the pandemic, I have seen for myself how colleagues have stepped up and gone above and beyond to make sure our customers are getting the service they need.

"I think the Regulator's assessment is a great endorsement of the collective hard work and commitment shown by colleagues across the organisation."

In-depth assessments are carried out by the Regulator on housing associations every four years to check how the housing providers perform against governance and financial viability standards. They are then graded from one to four in each standard with one being highest.

Sir Peter Fahy, Chair of Plus Dane's Board said: "The role of housing associations and the importance of their investment in communities has been amplified over the last 18 months.

"Our resilience as an organisation has been key to us being able to step up our support throughout the pandemic and we expect this need will continue for some time to come.

"The Board and Executive team would like to thank all Plus Dane colleagues for the great efforts they have gone to that have helped us achieve our G1 V1 status."