Foreword from the Chair
Welcome to our annual report.
Having emerged from the worst of the pandemic, we have started on a new path in our journey. This was crystallised with the opening of our new office in the heart of Croydon.
During this period of uncertainty and upheaval, we have stood firm in our vision to ‘deliver on our promises’. We were founded over 50 years ago, to serve residents and be there when needed – and this remains the same today. Our business plan, ‘ccha 2025’, which we are halfway through, sets out five themes that we consider to be key to fulfilling our promises.
The five key themes are:
Resident Standards
Staff and partner engagement
Safety and security responsibility
More affordable homes pledge
Value for money offer
We know how important it is to get services right because the cost-of-living crisis is putting even more pressure on people’s finances.
Heather Thomas - Chair of ccha
The last year also saw continued volatility in the economic and political environment. The highest rate of inflation in over 40 years along with labour shortages, supply issues and uncertain housing policy have all impacted the five key themes of our Business Plan over the last year.
The reputation of housing associations has continued to be affected by the tragic death of Awaab Ishak and other stories of disrepair, damp and mould in social housing properties. ccha continues to recognise its role in improving services to residents along with the wider housing sector.
Against this backdrop it is disappointing, but not surprising, that we saw a fall in overall resident satisfaction over the year. We know this means we are some way off delivering on all our resident standards. We are pleased though that almost three-quarters of residents are happy that we keep them informed, and that our communal areas are clean and well maintained.
Our analysis suggests that residents are particularly dissatisfied with our repairs service and general customer service. We are working hard to improve these services and we know that we must continue to listen to and engage with our residents, while working closely with our partners.
During the year, we launched new customer service standards after consultation with residents. I was also pleased to speak to residents during our ‘Meet the Board’ sessions. Our Leadership Team has also been meeting residents out on our estates and at our schemes.
All this, along with the regular resident surveys, have provided vital feedback to help us remodel our services so that they better meet the needs of residents.
We know how important it is to get services right because the cost-of-living crisis is putting even more pressure on people’s finances. This is why we have continued to provide advice to residents on income management, welfare benefits and debt advice. Our Welfare, Benefit and Debt Advisor was successful in recovering a total of nearly £500,000 in financial support for residents.
As a ‘placeshaping’ organisation with strong roots in Croydon, we are committed to the wider community. We continued to support the Legacy Youth Zone in Selhurst, which provides vital support to children and young people in the borough. We also strengthened our local partnerships by collaborating on a project with a new co-operative Heads2gether, St Luke’s Church, Woodside and Community Led Housing. We very much hope this project will eventually lead to the development of 14 new homes.
The safety and security of residents, staff and the general public has always been a priority for us. During the year we maintained compliance in the areas of employer and landlord health and safety while also making improvements to our safety systems.
We continued to play our role in meeting housing need in Croydon with two new superb developments at Millen Court with six homes for London Affordable Rent and 12 homes for shared ownership, and a further 23 homes at Angel Oak Point.
We were pleased to see so many residents visit our new office during recent open days. The office, situated in the centre of Croydon, is a smaller space and reflects our new way of working. It is already acting as a hub for our team to work in and for our residents to visit. We own the new office, which means we are saving on rental costs and can put this money back into our services.
During the year, we carried out a training programme to ensure all our staff are equipped to conduct their roles effectively.
Following the In-Depth Assessment (IDA) by the regulator in 2022, the Board and Leadership Team have been working through the action plan. This has involved strengthening our financial planning, treasury management and risk management so that we can regain full compliance with the Regulator’s standard in this area.
As we close off one year’s work and launch the next, I would like to thank the staff, our chief executive, Leadership Team and my colleagues on the Board for their hard work and commitment over the last year. I would also like to thank our partners and stakeholders for their continued support.
Thank you all.
Heather Thomas Chair of ccha
