Meet Paul Carhart, CHA Board Member

Paul Carhart has joined the CHA Board, bringing extensive experience in housing, governance and development, alongside a longstanding interest in how churches can help provide homes.

Paul's career has included senior roles at New Prospect Housing, City West Housing Trust, ForViva, and Wirral Methodist Housing Association. He has also served as a Trustee at Emmaus Merseyside.

“I was drawn to CHA by the opportunity to bring my housing experience together with my interest in the Church of England and its role in providing social housing. It’s a small housing association and I’m interested in being around to help it and watch it grow,” Paul said.

His interest goes back more than a decade, when his own church explored plans to redevelop its halls, vicarage and other land to build 12 new homes.

“It’s a concept that I’ve been familiar with for quite some time, which is there’s a lot more that the churches can do in utilising the space and resources they’ve got to give people a great place to live.”

He brings considerable experience of housing association governance and regulation. He understands the standards expected of boards, from making and recording decisions to overseeing performance and making sure organisations meet their responsibilities.

He has also worked extensively with customer complaints and housing development. Both will be useful to CHA as it develops its services and looks for opportunities to build new homes.

In his current role at Wirral Methodist Housing Association, he works for an organisation established more than 60 years ago by people from the local Methodist Church.

“The relationship between the association and the Church remains active, with opportunities for volunteering and working together. That's the type of partnership that doesn't happen in other organisations.

“In a wider sense, there's a relationship between housing associations and church groups in general that can be beneficial for residents of homes and the wider community.”

Paul attends All Saints, Stoneycroft, and has been involved in the Church of England during his 30 years living in Liverpool. His experience of both housing and church life gives him a practical understanding of the relationships that can help make church-based housing work.

“I think our biggest success is going to be helping more people and creating more intentional communities, giving people not just a house or a flat, but actually a real community and a real place to live.”