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Record Surplus For Colne Housing
August 2007
Colchester-based Colne Housing Society has reported a record surplus of almost £1.6m, all of which will be ploughed back into improving its properties and providing even more affordable homes in north Essex.
The Society – which owns and manages more than 1,900 properties across north Essex – also exceeded its target for building new homes last year by almost 50 per cent.
It added a record 144 new properties to its extensive portfolio of homes during the financial year which ended in March.
Colne Housing’s Finance Director Lynne Shea says the record surplus was achieved in part because of the extra numbers of properties which Colne Housing now manages. During the year Colne Housing became Corporate Trustees of four Almshouse Trusts.
Other factors which helped to enhance the Society’s finances included making a two-and-half per cent saving on all costs; opting for a three-year cyclical painting contract and investing heavily in IT for further efficiency savings.
Colne Housing Society aims to build 100 new properties each year but during the 12 months to March 2007 the numbers were boosted to 144, in part because of the low cost home ownership scheme in Westway, Colchester.
Lynn Shea said:”It was an exceptional year for Colne Housing. We are enormously proud of its success in generating surplus income to re-invest in the community.
“We believe our tenants will benefit from our success and we remain totally committed to driving up the quality and supply of affordable housing.
“We think these record surplus figures will help us to make great strides in that direction.“
Colne Housing plans to invest about £800,000 this year on refurbishing and improving in its own properties; the schemes will include kitchen refurbishment, replacing boilers and improvements to sheltered housing schemes.
The Society also plans to build another 120 homes in the current year focusing on social housing developments now under way in Stanway, St Osyth and Mersea.
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