Foreword from the Chair
Our vision is to deliver on our promises with a mission to enable staff and partners to deliver excellent services for residents and provide quality homes for our community.
We set out our aims in the ccha Business Plan 2025 where we identified five key themes:
1. Resident standards
2. Staff and partner engagement
3. Safety and security responsibility
4. More affordable homes pledge
5. Value for money offer
The profound impact of the coronavirus pandemic over the last two years has made the delivery of our mission and vision more challenging. In many ways the second year of the pandemic was more demanding than the first as it had a considerable impact on our operational services.
Yet, the pandemic has strengthened our view that our relationship with residents is fundamental to ccha. Over the last year we have explored new ways to talk to and involve residents. Building on the work we started before the pandemic, we carried out a consultation with residents on our new service standards and provided customer services training for all staff.
We know that there is more work to do to improve our customer satisfaction levels but we are pleased that 75% of residents were satisfied with our engagement with them. During the year we continued to provide advice to residents on managing income and expenditures, welfare benefits, debt advice and training and employment opportunities. ccha also retained its commitment to the wider community as a founder patron of the Legacy Youth Zone in Selhurst.
Our plans to grow slowed during the year but we are pleased to see the handover of 24 new homes in Bromley. We continued our programme of improving the condition of existing homes by investing in new windows, doors, kitchens, bathrooms and roofs. This work has modernised homes while making them warmer to live in. Both the climate and energy crisis have increased our focus on the energy efficiency and sustainability of our homes. We are pleased that 74% of homes now achieve an EPC C rating and above. We are well on target to achieve full compliance by 2030 and Steve Fox, our new Director of Homes will be leading on this work.
Our Board membership normally lasts for six years, which means we regularly renew and strengthen the Board to meet ccha’s needs. This year we were pleased to welcome two new board members, Marcella Jenoure and Julian Chun, along with Chris Abad, our new Company Secretary, who will be supporting the Board and leadership team.
The war in Ukraine and continuing wars in other regions along with supply shortages and inflation, provide both an alarming and difficult environment for us all to move forward. We know that residents face many difficult choices and, as communities, organisations and businesses, we are all being challenged.
As we move from the pandemic and Covid-19 becomes endemic, I hope that we can build on what we have collectively learnt, that enhancing and enriching our relationships are more important than ever.
So, as I conclude this foreword, I know that what we did over this last year would not have been possible without the skill and engagement of everyone in our organisation, continuing to fulfil their roles despite the many ongoing challenges. I would therefore like to thank our excellent, committed staff, leadership team and my colleagues on the Board, and give a special thank you to Tracy Cullen, our Chief Executive, for her dedication during the year.
Thank you all.
Heather Thomas Chair of ccha