Levent Kerimol

CDS Co-operatives recently agreed a ‘cornerstone investment’ of £1.25m in the Collective Ownership Society.

This new capital will be used to finance the first property acquisitions for its members, attract further investment and kick start the development of a new co-operative housing solution to intervene in the private rented sector with a fairer alternative that works in the interests of both immediate and future residents, and addresses the wider UK housing crisis.

Collective Ownership is a carefully crafted, innovative and scalable form of ‘tenure’ that provides stable, secure and affordable housing, controlled by residents. It is delivered through a high impact, efficient, not-for-profit investment vehicle: The Collective Ownership Society.

“CDS is proud to support Collective Ownership in bringing resident control to the private rented sector at scale” said Tom Bremner, chief executive at CDS Co-operatives. “We believe this innovative approach grows from our history and purpose and will also provide a better return than keeping our reserves in a savings accounts. This is something others in the sector should consider.”

As a specialist Housing Association managing around 3000 properties across London and the South East, CDS Co-operatives has a track record of establishing and supporting housing co-ops over the past 50 years. CDS also provides in-kind support to set up the Collective Ownership Society.

“This investment is a testament to the immense potential of our model, and the vision of CDS in bringing it forth” says Gauthier Guerin, of Collective Ownership. “We’ll use this to increase the equity we can bring to initial acquisitions, acting as an enabler for groups of residents. The impact of investment goes beyond funding one-off purchases, as assets and surpluses are reused to continuously grow the number of homes in Collective Ownership. Investment terms are flexible and open to organisations, individuals and residents.”

The Collective Ownership Society is an FCA-registered secondary housing co-operative (a “co-op of co-ops”) with seven housing co-op members, and more looking to join. It is based on mutualising property assets and rental income to build economic power, whilst ensuring residents have day-to-day control over their homes and communities. The Collective Ownership Society acts as a professionally run ‘property fund’ collectively owned by housing groups. It provides diverse investment opportunities, reduces risk and enables efficient asset transfer, tax treatment and use of funds.

The CDS investment is complemented by a further £100,000 investment from a supportive member of the public.

Collective Ownership is open for further bond-style social investment pledges from a wide range of organisations and individuals here: www.collectiveownership.co.uk/#invest

 

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Today, work started on the redevelopment of the Bonny Downs Baptist Church site in East Ham to provide supportive community housing to help people out of homelessness.

The church is working with the NEWway project homelessness charity and J49 Housing Association to build ‘Bonny Downs Urban Abbey’ on the site of its 1930s hall. The new building will provide two storeys of accommodation for an intentional community above a ground floor community space.

The church and NEWway started exploring this vision in 2019 and are delighted to see it finally happening. The expertise of the Community Led Homes team was instrumental in providing initial advice, bringing on board Panter Hudspith architects, brokering partnerships with housing associations, and ongoing support through the planning process.

Eight studio homes will welcome single people who have experienced homelessness, who will stay for an agreed period of supported tenancy before moving on to independent living. Two flats for church and community workers will provide peer support and stability. Generous shared living space will allow all residents to cook, eat, and share life together.

The ground floor will be used on Sundays for church and in the week it will house the NEWday day centre for people experiencing homelessness, an existing service commissioned by the London Borough of Newham that has 45-50 guests each day.

The project was made possible with financial contributions from the GLA, the London Baptist Association, The National Lottery Community Fund, Benefact Trust and many others, including church members who raised £120,000 through ‘buying a brick’ over many years.

 

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Brent Community Land Trust have submitted a planning application that will transform a small parking yard and disused garages in Stonebridge into 19 much-needed homes for Brent residents. All of the homes would be priced at an affordable rent in line with the average local income for people living in the area.

The CLT have been supported by the Community Led Homes team for many years in their ambitions to provide affordable housing across the borough, including helping to get cabinet approval for the site transfer and terms, and helping to appoint a professional team led by Andy Redfearn as development manager and Bell Phillips architects.

The designs have been shaped by Brent CLT volunteers with a focus on single adults and couples. They maximise the use of the site, recognising how difficult it is for those with low incomes to secure affordable housing in the private rented sector.

Brent CLT board member, Ioana Lupas, said that the group acted as ‘champions for the future residents of Stonebridge in developing a proposal that responds carefully to the site and gives local people the opportunity to remain in the neighbourhood.’

Energy performance has been considered with the inclusion of air source heat pumps and solar panels, combined with a ‘fabric-first’ approach and the addition of perforated roller shutters.

Brent CLT was established in 2020 and is an independent, not for profit, membership organisation. You can find out more about Brent CLT and register for updates on how to get involved on www.brentclt.org.uk

 

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Gida Housing Co-operative reached an important milestone in submitting their detailed (stage 2) information to the Regulator for Social Housing with the aim becoming a Registered Provider (RP).
This has involved careful methodical work in considering and developing every aspect of the organisation and their project; something we have supported each step of the way, alongside other experts and CDS Co-operatives as intended managing agent.

Gida aims to provide affordable rented housing for black and minoritised communities in Tottenham. We have historically helped Gida become preferred bidder to purchase 58 homes in the St. Ann’s scheme developed by Peabody/Hill on GLA owned land.

More recently We have been instrumental in proposing and finalising key legal arrangements, which secure the opportunity, while ‘threading the needle’ of becoming a Registered Provider of Social Housing.

 

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