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Brutopia cohousing

August 10, 2022

We had a little time to see Brutopia cohousing in Brussels.

It’s something of a rarity – unlike other northern European countries, Belgium doesn’t have many community led housing schemes, despite having a lot of self-build.

Brutopia started when one of the members emailed his address book inviting anyone interested to discuss the idea of cohousing. 45 people turned up to the first meeting. There were 15 people at the second meeting, and a clear group began to emerge.

They split the city into segments and cycled around to find sites. This site was used a storage for trucks and was one of the first they found. The owner did not see significant value in the site, and by chance his father had been interested in cohousing, so he was prepared to agree a reasonable land value and deferred payment to start on site to facilitate the project.

We met one of the original members, architect Serge Fraas. He lives in the community with his family and his office designed the scheme. He recalls the planning authorities were not sure what to make of their proposals and took a lot of persuasion around some unconventional approaches for Brussels, such as the density and car-free aspects of the scheme. However it features commercial, charitable and community uses on the ground floors, with 29 flats above. As far as we could understand, some of these were consciously sold at a discount, although there were no on-site affordable housing requirements at the time. The group formed a corporate entity to borrow development finance from Triodos, who were interested in understanding the financial situations of all members and sought individual deposits at start on site. The flats switched to individual condominium (commonhold) ownership at completion, with individual mortgages.

Each flat has its own private outdoor space in the form of a large balcony, but there is a sense of community in the shared courtyard garden with slides and trampolines, and a couple of pet rabbits hopping about! The roof terrace is a communal space only for adults to enjoy quiet time. There is also a common room on the ground floor for larger events and meetings, and a shared laundry room.

For some more images see Stekke+Fraas and Dezeen.

Stekke+Fraas also designed a scheme for Brussels CLT, and we can see lots of similarities with the UK.

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Connecting with Bristol CLT

July 11, 2022

by Levent Kerimol

It has been great to run CLT Connect events with Forest CLT and facilitate discussion between Community Land Trusts in London. We caught up on projects and discussed common challenges; how groups were organised, and approached their membership; how sites, tenure mixes and resident groups were agreed; and we considered development partnerships, landlord partnerships, and allocations. These took place in the self-build community hub on the RUSS Church Grove construction site, which was inspiring to see going up.

But there is nothing like seeing a scheme after it is built and bedded in. So we were very lucky to be welcomed to 325 Fishponds Road by Bristol CLT on Sunday.

We met residents who moved in 6 years ago. The scheme converted a former school building and has a mix of shared ownership houses and 1-bed studios for affordable rent, allocated to CLT members on housing waiting lists. The scheme is managed by Brighter Places HA on behalf of the CLT. So far so normal.

But as we walked around the corner we saw people clearing breakfast they had eaten on the walkway which doubled up as shared patios, piled up with the relics of family life, barbeques, benches, bicycles. These overlooked a shared garden, where someone tending the plants climbed the steps followed by a dog. Children ran around and through each others’ houses.

There was no ‘common house’ or ‘intentional community’, but this looked and felt like intergenerational cohousing. The shady rear gardens also lacked fences. An informal path ran across and linked back doors where fences would have been. Individual and common spaces were blurred throughout the scheme, and reinforced our theory that community led housing is all about gardens.

A significant part of the project had been the requirement for residents to finish some of the internal fit-out of kitchens, tiling, and flooring, although no plumbing or electrical work was expected. Whilst this translated into a small additional equity percentage or rent discount, and allowed some customisation and a sense of satisfaction for residents, it’s main benefit seemed to be that residents got to know each other before they moved in.

This neighbourliness has persisted. If something needs fixing or doing, people know who to ask. This is informal, voluntary, friendly help, without written rules. Residents often meet to discuss mini-projects, to clear-out the shed, and add a green roof, and people feel free to express any issues they have.

What is interesting is the continuation of that culture over time. The first shared ownership sale took place last year. The new residents were not involved in the self-finish work, but have been welcomed into the community. Residents hope the same will be true of a rented home which recently became vacant.

Shared activities before people move in, sociable spaces, and a lack of fences, foster these relationships. These may only be small changes to conventional housing, but the value of children growing up in this way, the sense of belonging, knowing you have neighbours who can help, or casually leaving your front door open, are hard to value.

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CLT Connect

June 14, 2022

Forest CLT and CLH London worked together to organise curated roundtables for London-based CLTs.

These were an opportunity for CLTs to learn about each other and how they are working, catch up on projects, and discuss common challenges.

The first session in May discussed governance and membership topics:
• How organisations are organised, eg working groups, policies, AGMs, board,
• Approaches to membership building, alliances, and the role of members
• Why people are working with CLTs, and what was unique about each organisaiton?

The second session in June considered:
• How sites were found and decided upon
• How councils (or other landowners) were convinced
• How tenure mixes and target resident groups were agreed
• How robust decision making and clarity over responsibilities and risks were ensured
• Development partnerships, landlord partnerships, and allocations

How NW3 CLT started and how it’s going

May 7, 2022

We caught up with Sanya Polescuk – NW3 CLT founder and director, to find out where the idea for the CLT was born, how Sanya has nurtured the group to grow a membership of over 150 and the stage they are at now, after an impressive six years of activity.

Transforming frustrations into solutions

As a long-time resident of the lively neighbourhood of Hampstead in Camden, Sanya began to feel a sense of frustration at the apparent depletion of a mixed community in the area in which she lived. Because of the high land values in the area, previously affordable and public property was often sold to the high bidder, meaning that new residents to the borough could only be of a certain income bracket, making it increasingly difficult for many people to find affordable and secure housing in the area.

“I didn’t used to know anything about the term Community Land Trust (CLT) before this, I just wanted to talk about what was happening around me to as many people as I could. It wasn’t until I ran into someone in 2014 who told me about this process that the group started to take shape.”

At this time, Community Led Housing London had not been formed yet, and so the group used the National CLT Network to learn about the process. Three initial members: Sanya, a local councillor, and a local friend (who later became NW3 directors) went on a mission – airing their concerns and what they thought could be done to solve them.

“We knew we were quite an anomaly at the time because the ‘CLT’ term tended to imply rural land held in a trust for the community. East London CLT was the only urban CLT that I had heard of up until this point, but their area and issues were somewhat different from ours.

“We soon realised we needed to become more of a solid organisation. We set up our website, spoke to a local lawyer, who helped us with incorporating a Community Benefit Society, became FCA approved and set up a bank account. I made sure we were looking at other existing models, made known to us by the National CLT Network and we began to adjust and adapt these for our needs.”

Growing the NW3 community

NW3 CLT currently have a membership of over 150. They grew membership by creating action in the community – telling people locally about what was happening with the housing supply surrounding them and encouraging them to act too. Sanya made sure they were alerted to all planning applications and sales in the borough – always on the lookout for their first site.

“When CLH London was created, we’d already been making noise for nearly three years – and by this point we had already met with Camden Council and had over 50 members. We needed people who wouldn’t stop at the hurdles, who would keep pushing for what they believed in, and that’s what we got!

“Our aim was to make it easy for people to join, membership was cheap, registered, and legitimate – so why not join? It’s great to have the noise and volume at first, and then it becomes clear who has the time and expertise to really get involved day to day.”

Alongside campaigning against public assets being sold off to the highest bidder, the CLT had also attempted to prepare development proposals for these sites. However, they were too large and too complex for “a first-timer like us” to be given a chance. CLH London highlighted that this presented a confusing picture to potential partners. The group saw an opportunity with a small council block, devastated by a controversial fire, and discussed it with the hub. This was seen as a manageable size and with a clear logic of the added value of community led development. The CLH London team guided NW3 to put a business plan together including financial modelling to illustrate the need and increased capacity through community-led housing development on this site. Once this was created, they could go to the council and present a real solution.

“We showed the council that we can make noise, but also be productive and set out real steps for the process. We told them we could provide a whole rainbow of tenures, to safeguard the diversity of the area.”

31 Daleham Gardens, which had been vacant since November 2017, became the first plot for the group – who have visions of creating around 14 environmentally-friendly homes, of which well over half would be genuinely affordable and for existing residents and workers of NW3.

“Camden Cabinet voted unanimously to sell 31 Daleham to a CLT, and later requested evidence of organisational capacity to deliver housing for the local community through an open Expression of Interest, and we were accepted as the Council’s development partners.”

the keys to the site — CLT directors Jim and Calum obtaining the keys

The group chose Mole Architects for the scheme and their designs to Passivhaus standard will be surrounded by green, outdoor community and play space. Profits will be invested back into the scheme, helping to improve the affordability and quality of the homes. The current projection is that the homes could be completed in early 2025.

Joining forces with Community Led Housing London

“Camden says it’s a ‘pioneering exemplar’ project – and we hope we have invented the wheel for more. As valuable as the Community Housing Fund was, the support from the CLH team was arguably just as important. Just knowing that we have that behind us and their presence at our meetings, is invaluable. We are steered in our development and management, and there is a direct voice of reason.

“Where do you go next? How do you engage? Who should you talk to and how do you manage those relationships? These questions were ever present and that’s where CLH London’s advice really comes in.”

The group receive continuous positive feedback from the Council, and they are being encouraged to investigate more small sites in the area to potentially develop more housing.

“This project is not the end! If anyone is thinking of following in our footsteps, I encourage you to reach out to CLH London, and if you’re not in London, the CLT Network, nationally. They were an incredible help. Once you’re in this incredible network, you can follow the path of others and we are always happy to share our experiences and pitfalls!”

Keep up to date through the NW3 CLT website.

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Community Housing Funding renewal

March 1, 2022

You may have seen the campaign to renew the Community Housing Fund (CHF) nationally, and this is now important with the London CHF due to close soon. Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State, and Chris Pincher MP, Housing Minister, can include the CHF renewal in their departmental budget for 2022-25, by the end of March. They both support the CHF in principle, but need to put money behind it. Nationally, the ask is for £45 million in revenue funding for projects and £7.5 million of capital funding for non-standard affordable tenures.

If you’re a community led housing group developing a project, write to your MP today asking them to lobby on your behalf. You can find their email and how to refer to them in this directory.

In your letter, keep a formal tone, tell your MP about your project, what you hope to achieve and how critical the Community Housing Fund has been and will be to your success. Attach and mention the Community Housing Fund Briefing, which covers the CHF’s successes including case studies and outlines the asks. Ask your MP to write to Michael Gove MP asking that he renew the Community Housing Fund, citing your project. Letters from MPs have a huge impact on ministers.

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