Popular Board Member Dies

Reg Hayes, a CCHA Tenant Board member for over 15 years sadly died on 11th May 2008. He was 84 years old.

You may ask: how did that prepare Reg for becoming a Board member of a housing association for 15 years? Well, perhaps at some housing associations it wouldn’t – he had no experience of housing associations, no university education, no professional qualifications. However, at CCHA we’ve always had tenants and community representatives on our Board, with or without qualifications or professional backgrounds, indeed we reserve places for them. We understand and appreciate the value their experiences bring to the Board. We do need people who are professionally qualified and who have experience of running complicated businesses – but make no mistake we also need those who live in our housing and in our communities to be part of our Board as well. That mix is what makes our Board special and that’s why Reg was so important to us and had the respect of his fellow Board members.

From the moment he became a tenant in 1991, Reg took an active part in the life of the scheme. The residents wanted to form a tenants’ association – Reg was in the thick of it and became the Chairman. The residents wanted a communal lounge: Reg was a thorn in our side constantly badgering us to sort it out; the residents wanted something done – Reg was always ready to champion their case. Of course, because of Reg’s enjoyment of a day, or night, out he was also a prominent part of the scheme’s social committee. Reg helped to organise Tea Dances, which really should have been called Beer Dances, because we think it’s fair to say that quite a few people never touched tea – unless of course it was washed down with a brandy.

This involvement with the life of Holmview Court led Reg to our Board as a tenant representative. He joined in 1992 and was an ever-present until his recent untimely death. We have several schemes for older people and Reg became an unofficial spokesman on the Board for the schemes, the people who lived there and the wardens who worked there.

He was never afraid to raise issues and to comment on what he thought we did wrong; he had a great sense of loyalty and fairness which we admired him for. To have that closeness whilst still being able to tell us what he thought about our latest mistake was quite a remarkable quality. Elaine, his daughter, told CCHA recently that “… he loved being part of the Board of CCHA and would have been gutted if he’d ever had to leave.” He can rest easy knowing that he had our total respect and that we never ever wanted him to leave.

CCHA’S Royal Appointment

Board Members and senior staff at CCHA were recently invited with other guests by Prince Charles to a study visit to Poundbury in Dorset. Poundbury is an experimental new village on the outskirts of Dorchester. It is built on land owned by the Duchy of Cornwall, and is a realisation of Prince Charle’s who has challenged the post-war trends in town planning. The Prince is known for holding strong views on recent urban planning and architecture.

Prince Charles gave a presentation on the development and then led guests on a tour of the area. Apart from CCHA the visit was attended by national politicans, officers of the Welsh Assembly Government, Business in the Community in Wales and academic insitutions such as UWIC and Cardiff University.

The village is built to a traditional high-density urban pattern and focused on creating an integrated community of shops, businesses, and traditional private and social housing; there is no zoning. The aim of the planners is to design the village around the people rather than the car (to encourage walking, cycling and public transport) and to provide a high-quality built-environment.

The overall plan was developed in the late 1980s and construction started in October 1993. It is expected that the four plan phases will be developed over 25 years with a total of 2,500 dwellings and a population of about 6,000.

The visit was certainly thought-provoking and provided an excellent insight into alternative housing and urban planning concepts for the Board and its team to reflect upon and consider when developing future new homes.

And Then There Were None…

‘Trowbridge Shops’ Demolitions Complete – Site Ready for 45 New Homes and Community Centre.

As reported recently work is underway on Phase II of the regeneration of the ‘Trowbridge Shops’ site, Caernarvon Way, Rumney. In the last few weeks we’ve cleared the site by demolishing the derelict flats and shops and work is now ready to start on the new housing and community centre. Demolitions continued throughout March with the last of the buildings, which have been an eyesore for many years, being taken down in early April.

In their place will go the new community centre and 45 new homes for rent made up of:

• 30 family houses
• 15 flats

The construction will last around 72 weeks. The £6m housing part of the scheme is the major element of our new Social Housing Grant programme for 2008/09 – we’ll be receiving about £4m in SHG from the Welsh Assembly Government to help with the cost of the building of the new homes.

Superb New Low-Cost Apartments For Sale And Rent Available In Splott – Now!

PAY JUST 55% OF THE FULL SALE PRICE

45% Loans Available From CCHA with Nothing to Be Repaid Until You Decide To Sell

The full details of our new 20 apartment scheme, for sale and rent, are available at www.myplaceinthebay.co.uk right now! If you would like to own a home of your own, then these apartments could be for you – and you could get onto the property ladder for just 55% of the full sale price. Prices for a 55% share start at £63,500, for a 1 bed apartment and £71,500 for a 2 bed (subject to final valuation). The properties are bound to popular and there’s only ten available.

The properties are perfectly suited to single people or couples who want the convenience of apartment life, with the great amenities of the city centre and transport links on their doorstep. 

So, if you’re working and earning a modest income and can’t get onto the property ladder then these apartments could be for you. They are available to first-time buyers as well as people who are starting again following a change in personal circumstances or returning to home ownership after a gap.

Remember you only have to find a mortgage/deposit for the 55% figures noted above – although you can buy up to a 70% share if you would prefer. We then provide you with a loan for the remaining percentage with nothing to be repaid until the property is sold.

Danielle Reagan is the proud owner of a one-bedroom apartment in Cardiff Bay which she bought last January through CCHA. In a recent interview Danielle said “The process was very straightforward: I just had to fill in a simple application form, get an agreement in principle from my mortgage provider and provide proof of my identity and where I was working.”

“Then the Council took care of everything and worked out how much of the property I could afford to buy and how much I could take as a loan. There was no stress because CCHA called me regularly to let me know what was happening… My apartment is brilliant.”

Kevin Protheroe, Chief Executive, said “Offering the properties at 55% of the full sale price should help new buyers get onto the property ladder despite the problems in the housing market being caused by the credit crunch.”

“We are focused on housing need and providing homes for a broad range of people with different needs and in different circumstances, which is why we are offering homes for sale to people trying to get onto the property ladder.   We are also offering the same high quality apartments for reasonable rents at this development.”

For all the details go to www.myplaceinthebay.co.uk or:

To rent: 1 bed apartments only
Tel: 029 2046 8482
residential.management@ccha.org.uk

To buy: 1 and 2 bed apartments
Tel: 029 2053 7366
lcho@cardiff.gov.uk

New-Look Spring CHAT Hits The Streets

The spring edition of CHAT – our tenants’ newsletter, is available for you to download from the site now. Since Christmas we’ve reviewed the layout of the newsletter and freshened up the way it looks. We hope you like it.

There’s a lot of text and statistics in the current edition; every year we’re required by the government to make available to our tenants a range of information about our activities – form the rents we charge; to the number of people on our waiting lists; our repairs performance and so on. We’re happy to provide the information and we do so in some detail in this current edition.

Also featured in this edition are:

• A report on complaints and compliments and how we dealt with them
• Consultations on probationary tenancies and our new Service Standards document
•  A report on the Tenants’ Representatives Council tour of CCHA’s estates

We’ve also updated Contact CCHA – a guide to our team’s direct lines,  which is available from our Contact Us page right now.

New Home Contents Insurance Scheme Launched

If you’re a CCHA tenant and you’re thinking of taking out contents insurance, then CCHA may be able. The organisations that represent housing associations in Wales and England – Community Housing Cymru and the National Housing Federation have got together with Jardine Lloyd Thompson Tenant Risks and Allianz Insurance and produced a contents insurance policy for housing association tenants called ‘My Home’.

CCHA does not insure your furniture, belongings or decorations against theft, fire, vandalism, burst pipes and other household risks. We think it is sensible to take out insurance to cover such risks to your personal belongings – either through this scheme or by making your own arrangements.

The My Home Scheme has a number of features such as:

• Flexible pay as you go options
• Easy to apply
• No excess
• Covers theft, water damage and fire
• Covers accidental damage to sanitary fixtures such as toilets and washbasins
• Covers lost or stolen keys
• New-for-old (except for linen and clothing)
• Special low minimum sums insured (£6,000 if you are over the age of 60; £9,000 for all other people)

So, if you’re a tenant of CCHA and are considering taking out insurance, the My Home policy may be worth considering.

Please note that CCHA will not benefit financially if you take out a policy with My Home.

NEXT UPDATE: JULY 2008