AN award-winning social housing provider is celebrating two decades of "making a difference" in the community.
Colchester Borough Homes is celebrating its 20th birthday this month, after being established back in 2003.
The social housing provider, which operates as an arms-length company on behalf of Colchester Council, has grown to become one of the largest in Essex.
CBH provides management and maintenance services for more than 7,000 homes, including flats, houses, and sheltered accommodations.
Read more:
- Honywood School Coggeshall announces mobile phone ban
- Essex interactive map launches to show 'safe' routes for women
It also maintains commercial and public buildings, such as Colchester Castle and Colchester Town Hall.
Over the past two decades, CBH has invested heavily in the council’s homes, upgrading them to make them more energy-efficient and sustainable.
Esme Cole, the chair of CBH’s board of directors said: "We are so proud to be celebrating our 20th birthday.
"Over the past 20 years, we have put our tenants and leaseholders at the heart of everything we do – and we would like them to be at the heart of our special birthday celebrations too.
"We are proud of our track record of providing high-quality affordable homes and excellent customer service to people in Colchester and the surrounding area.
"We have worked hard to achieve this standard of excellence and are committed to ensuring our customers continue to have positive experiences in the years to come.
For news updates straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.
"We are especially delighted that during our 20th anniversary year, work should be completed on a major refurbishment of Elfreda House, which will provide upgraded sheltered accommodation for our older residents.
"And we have recently acquired funding to upgrade a further 105 of our properties to make them more energy efficient and comfortable."
To mark its anniversary, CBH is hosting a series of events, including planting commemorative trees and shrubs, burying a time capsule, and hosting open days and tea parties in sheltered schemes.
"Over the next year, we will be celebrating with a wide range of events," added Esme.
"We want to thank the council, our tenants, staff, and partners for their support over the past 20 years.
"We look forward to continuing to work with them to create a better future for everyone in Colchester."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here