Our History
Witham Housing Association Limited was founded in 1968 by thirteen local people committed to the provision of sheltered housing for older people.
A programme of fundraising culminated in the purchase of a plot of land in Guithavon Valley in 1970. Podsbrook House was built on this plot and opened on 23rd June 1973 by Sir John Ruggles-Brise, Lord Lieutenant of Essex.
Around 1950 Rosalind Pelly established the Pelly Trust as a memorial to her late husband John and the trust purchased Collingwood House to provide retirement accommodation, particularly for those who found themselves alone and without shelter at the end of their working lives. In 1976 the Pelly Trust gifted Collingwood House (now Noel Pelly House) to Witham Housing Association.
These two properties continue to provide affordable sheltered housing for older people with a connection to Witham.
The Association is currently registered under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 (Registered No: IP18885R) and remains a non-profit making housing association.
