CCHA has come a long way since it began half a century ago with just five homes for people in need. After weeks of happily trawling through old press clippings, publicity materials and many photos, staff now have a rich understanding of our humble beginnings, which started in 1967.
Established in 1967, half a century ago, founding members purchased CCHA’s first property for families in need. Responding to the housing needs within the communities it serves, CCHA’s humble beginnings saw a rise from 5 to over 1400 much needed, affordable homes across the boroughs of Bromley, Croydon, Merton and Sutton.
As part of making our 50th celebration special, we have planned two events, one that took place on the 27th January 2017, held at Braithwaite Hall and our residents’ open day, which takes place on the 27th April 2017 at our Head Office.
Braithwaite hall event
Croydon Councillor and Mayor of Croydon, Wayne Trakas-Lawlor, joined an array of dignitary guests from Croydon and Sutton for the 50th anniversary celebration of CCHA, a local community housing provider.
The event was well attended, with over 60 people in attendance, including Gavin Barwell MP, Housing and Planning Minister, Minister for London and MP for Central Croydon, as well as staff and residents from nearby schemes. The exceptional 50th anniversary event was hosted at the Braithwaite Hall in Croydon.
The event was celebrated by an astounding performance by the Cardboard citizens, who delivered a theatrical performance of ‘Cathy’ a modern day re-staging of ‘Cathy Come Home’ a powerful and thought provoking film about homelessness, originally aired in 1966.
Download ’50th Commemorative’ booklet
Download ‘CCHAtzone’ newsletter
Residents’ Open Day Gallery
On the 27th April 2017, we welcomed the highest number of attendees ever for our residents open day held at Norfolk House. 113 resident attended the event where our 50th anniversary celebrations continued on.
We had a presentation from the CEO as well as contractors. Throughout the day we had office tours, meet and greet stands, free goodie bags and lots more. We received lots of positive praise from our residents, some of which include:
“Positive chats with everyone”.
“It was very useful putting faces to names, thank you for a good morning”.
“Enjoyed, friendly, will come again”.
We have plans to change a few things in preparation for 2018’s open day and we’d like to thank all those who contributed to the surveys, allowing us to use feedback to make the event better year on year.
