community led housing london

Levent Kerimol

London Assembly look at community led housing

Our director, Levent Kerimol spoke to the London Assembly Housing Committee about community led housing, alongside:
• Tom Copley, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Development,
• Dr Tom Moore from the University of Liverpool, and
• Paul Nicoll from Triodos Bank.

We drew on our reflections for the future looking at the barriers to community led housing, and how we might think differently to give people control and belonging without the challenges encountered to date.

 
The earlier session also covered useful ground and featured:
• Tom Chance, Community Land Trust Network
• Niall Mulholland, London Federation of Housing Co-operatives
• Fatimatu Mohamed, Gida Housing Co-operative
• Bernadette Marjoram, Board Member, Meridian Home Start

 
The Assembly Committee has also issued a call for evidence from anyone who would like to contribute written submissions. Please see the details on their website and get responses in by Thursday 22 August 2024.

 

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Gida Housing Co-op selected for Community Led Homes at St Ann’s in Tottenham

Gida Housing Co-operative is set to take on 58 homes in a partnership with Peabody and the GLA, which will see affordable rented housing controlled by Black and racially minoritised communities and residents. This community-led initiative is part of the St Ann’s New Neighbourhood development, a scheme that aims to deliver over 970 new homes on the St Ann’s Hospital site in Tottenham.

Representing one of the largest community-led housing schemes in London at the moment, Gida’s involvement builds upon historic efforts by the community and St Ann’s Redevelopment Trust (StART) to secure accessible and affordable homes in the area for those in housing need.

Yvonne Field OBE, chair of Gida Housing Co-operative said,

We’re excited to have been selected by the GLA as the community led housing organisation to work in partnership with Peabody. This project signifies an important step towards addressing the explicit housing need that Black and racially minoritised communities confront”.

Established in April 2021, Gida Housing Co-operative is dedicated to improving the quality and accessibility of housing for Black and racially minoritised communities in Tottenham and across London.

Gida’s key vision is to serve as an affordable housing provider that empowers Black and racially minoritised communities by granting them influence and control over the management of their homes.

Gida emerged from the work of StART, a group that was critical in promoting genuinely affordable homes at the St Ann’s Hospital Site. The group and campaign was pivotal in the decision by the Mayor of London to purchase the site in 2018, ensuring the provision of affordable and community homes within Peabody’s development for the St Ann’s New Neighbourhood, and running a selection process in 2022.

Over the next year, Gida Housing Co-operative plans to expand its membership, strengthen its organisational structure, and secure the necessary funds to deliver a community-led project that genuinely addresses the needs of local people in Haringey.

You can take part in Gida’s housing survey on their website: www.gidahousing.coop.

For further information and to stay updated on Gida’s progress, please email hello@gidahousing.coop or follow @Gidahousing

 

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Renters: Be your own landlord

Thursday 13 June, 3pm – 5pm

Renting from private landlords exists today as the least secure and poorest quality housing tenure. This has led to a growing number of Londoners looking to take control of their housing security, and in doing so, challenging the very idea of what it means to own a home. Housing Co-operatives and new models of Collective Ownership are emerging with the aim of enabling people to come together, pool resources, and be their own landlords.

Join us for a talk reviewing how renters have taken control, and workshop on how you can do it too, taking place during the Renters exhibition of artistic practices from UAL students and recent graduates.

The exhibition builds on research carried out in the Arts Students Union’s Private Renters Report, which revealed huge levels of dissatisfaction with the private rental sector, and how it impacts students’ physical, emotional and mental wellbeing. The exhibition includes artworks by students from a variety of courses and colleges across UAL. Through sculpture, painting, photography, video, design and other multidisciplinary practices.

 

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Cohousing for Black Elders

We’re speaking at an event for a potential cohousing scheme for black elders.

This live online session will take place on Monday 22nd April at 7pm at which we will be discussing:

  • What is involved in establishing a community cohousing project?
  • What skills, knowledge and expertise do we need?
  • How is it funded?
  • How long will this process take?
  • Can I live there when it is finished?
  • How do I sign up!?

There are a lot of possibilities of what route this project could take, but it’s great to have Housing 21 and Soul Purpose 360 involved.
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Please register if you’re interested!

 

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Skills for community living

Living in community involves meetings. For many of us meetings are a necessary evil to be got through.

We are running an experiential learning group, offering a place to practice skills that are proven to increase a more respectful, inclusive way of meeting in a group.

We will start by following the ‘Ten Components of a Thinking Environment’, and touching on other models, such as Sociocracy, and nonviolent communication. The group will be facilitated by Karen Livesey, a trained coach and group facilitator. We will meet once a month, over four 2-hour sessions, initially in person and then online.

The group is open to anyone who is interested in experimenting and learning to create a thinking environment.

The first session was on 4th April.
The second session is planned for Thursday 23rd May at 2:00pm online, focusing on non-violent communication.
Get in touch if you’re interested in taking part in this programme, and developing new skills.

 

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