Focused on delivering affordable and quaity housing, the Cardiff Community Housing Association is devoted to maintaining equal opportunities. Exec UK finds out more.
by Lucy Mowatt
Established in 1996, Cardiff Community Housing is the product of a merger between the Adamsdown Housing Association and the Moors Housing Association. It prides itself on providing affordable, good quality homes to people in need.
The company is a non-profit organisation, which is mainly sustained by funds from the Welsh Assembly, although it has sought funds from banks and building societies to build new properties and conduct extensive development projects. Rental incomes provide Cardiff Community Housing Association with the finances required to maintain properties and run its operations. £8 million of turnover is generated from rental income, while £15–20 million comes from development projects.
In order to gain access to more resources, Cardiff Community Housing is a member of the Integrate group. This group is accredited by the Welsh Assembly and is made up of eight associations, all with the aim of reducing costs and improving quality. It is able to gain access to more resources by developing economies of scale. It also means that teams can share ideas and discuss any difficulties that they might have in order to find a suitable means to resolve problems.
Working with the community
Cardiff Community Housing tends to source its employees from the local area, because they are aware of what is important to the community and its people. There are currently 90 people working for CCHA across two offices in Cardiff. Many of the senior management board were employed by the former two housing associations which make up Cardiff Community Housing, meaning that they have bought their experience to the company. The Board of Directors is made up of people that have an active involvement in the area and can offer a real picture of what is needed from a housing association.
There is also a comprehensive training scheme offered to new employees to ensure that they are equipped with all of the skills that they need to react to any circumstances. This is followed up with ongoing appraisal sessions, seminars and courses in order to identify the need for further training and development. If members of staff wish to gain a qualification they need to have been working for the company for more than one year and the course should be relevant to their role at CCHA.
The company is also committed to offering equal opportunities to people in the area. It does not discriminate in terms of race, age, gender or sexuality and seeks to offer housing to people that need it most. The company holds the Investor in People certificate and the Positive about Disability Award.
CCHA has properties available in the Adamsdown, Blackweir, Butetown, Cathays, Llanederyn, Plasnewydd, Rumney, Splott, Tremorfa and Trowbridge areas of Cardiff. One bedroom properties, sheltered accommodation for the elderly, family homes with between two and six bedrooms, and homes for disabled people with up to five bedrooms are all available. These properties are available to those that need them, as well as to people that work in Cardiff or the local community and take a real interest in its development. There are a total of 2337 properties currently owned by CCHA.
Joint venture
The company is currently taking part in a new joint venture with Midas, a construction company from the West Midlands. This £4 million project will develop apartments in Sanquhar Street, Cardiff and aims at creating completely transparent transactions between contractors and their clients.
To this end the companies are assessing all potential circumstances for increasing costs during a construction project before signing a contract. Both companies believe that if this project is successful it could signal a completely new relationship between contractors and their employers, creating more of a partnership between businesses in which communication is paramount.
The decision as to who is eligible for a CCHA home is guided by a point-system, whereby the potential occupant is assessed according to their circumstances, their needs and their involvement in Cardiff. There is a lot of demand for homes in the area, which means that people often have to apply on more than one occasion. This is why the company is looking to develop more sites and take on more properties in order to cover needs.
Cardiff Community Housing Association also encourages tenants to become involved with the local community once they move in too. Not only does it want them to exercise their rights as shareholders in the company, but they also want to guide development and investments.
The CHAT newsletter is distributed to CCHA’s customers four times a year in order to spread details of the company’s plans and it also encourages membership in Tenant’s Associations. There is currently a focus to get younger people involved with these groups, as well as those from ethnic minorities, so that they get a complete picture of issues facing the whole community. To promote this, CCHA covers a proportion of the costs of these groups, offering them a £50 annual grant and a contribution to transport costs. A Customer Involvement Officer is employed directly by the Association in order to organise these meetings and raise issues.
There is also a dedicated Tenant’s Resource Centre in Adamsdown, which allows residents access to information about their tenancy, as well as a place to conduct meetings.
Focused on customer service
CCHA has achieved a number of certificates for its contribution to the local area, and in 2004 it also received the Charter Mark, which was awarded by the government for the company’s outstanding customer service offering. CCHA was reassessed this year and retained the certificate. This is a significant recognition of the company’s ongoing commitment to providing the best for its residents.
The homes provided by Cardiff Community Housing are all maintained so that they are comfortable and suitable. Certain sheltered housing schemes have community wardens available to assist the elderly with any needs that they might have between nine in the morning and five in the afternoon, Monday to Friday. These wardens check on the residents everyday to ensure that properties are kept clean, that gardens are maintained and that fire alarms are regularly serviced. There are alarms fitted in all rooms of the properties, which means that residents can get in contact with their wardens whenever they need to.
As a company committed to offering high quality homes and services, CCHA has a number of ongoing projects, which will take it through to 2008. Looking forward, the company is aiming to continue its transparent operations with existing contractors, while looking to develop its own contractor network. As such, it seems that the company is in a suitable position for continuing success and expansion.