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Granta Housing Society was founded in Cambridge in 1968 as a voluntary, independent organisation established to help people in housing need. The Society has charitable status.
Granta registered as a housing association with the Housing Corporation in September 1974, appointed its first employee in 1976 and had provided around 200 homes by the end of that decade.
The Society continued to grow throughout the 1980's developing housing schemes in new locations with the needs of additional client groups being met through provision of low cost home-ownership initiatives and community care programmes. Reflecting this growth and change the Society has attracted funding and support from a variety of public sources in addition to the Housing Corporation including a number of Local Authorities, County Council Social Services Departments and Health Authorities and Trusts. More recently Joint Purchasing Consortiums/Partnerships and Primary Care Groups/Trusts have assumed revenue-funding responsibilities for some of our supported housing or care schemes. Since 1989 the Society has also raised private finance from Banks and Building Societies to support its development activities.
The Society's housing stock is relatively modern and in good condition. We have an up-to-date stock condition survey and a funded programme of around £1m per annum for major repairs and improvements and Granta enjoys a good reputation with its tenants and the various agencies with which it works.
Within its general purpose housing stock Granta provides a comprehensive housing management and maintenance service to over 1500 affordable rented tenancies, (including sheltered housing) and over 200 leaseholders in low cost home ownership initiatives including shared ownership, fixed equity, key worker housing and leasehold schemes for the elderly. Stock is in urban and rural locations. Most new developments are general needs housing, ranging in size from village in-fill plots to larger estates of 60 to 100 homes in urban areas.
The Society also provides a wide range of housing with care and support for more vulnerable residents, including registered residential care and nursing homes, independent supported living schemes using Supporting People funds and floating support packages for people living in their own homes.
Mostly Granta directly manages its own housing, but some schemes, e.g. a hostel for women and children fleeing domestic violence or a hostel for homeless rough sleepers, have been developed to be managed by other local organisations with specialist experts acting as managing agent on behalf of Granta.
Increasingly our work goes beyond our tenants and their immediate housing needs into other neighbourhood support and community investment initiatives. The Society jointly employs a Community Development Officer with two partner organisations and has a Community Investment Fund to support and promote social, education, health and welfare improvement opportunities for residents and help tackle issues of social exclusion.
Granta is now one of the leading locally based housing associations working in East Anglia, being active in 20 different local authority areas, although the majority of operations remain within the Cambridge Sub-Region. The Society manages over 2200 homes and employs over 450 staff, (mostly working in residential care or support schemes). Granta retains a significant development programme, which should bring forward over 800 more homes in the next 4 years.
The Communities Plan and growing Regional/Sub-Regional agenda have increased opportunities for capital funding for the Cambridge/Stansted Sub-Region in belated recognition of growth needs along the M11 Corridor. The Society is well placed and has considerable potential to achieve even greater success in the years to come.
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