community led housing london

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case studies

Church Grove, RUSS

The Rural Urban Synthesis Society (RUSS) is a CLT with the aim of creating sustainable community-led neighbourhoods with affordable housing. The ambitious Church Grove scheme of 36 homes offers self-build opportunities for local people.

Number of homes 36 affordable units at a range of levels
Location Ladywell
Current Stage On site 2021

How they formed
The founding chair drew on his experience of growing up on Walters Way and living in Sanford Co-op, to gather a community of supporters and raise funds to incorporate a Community Benefit Society in 2009. They built membership, giving anyone the opportunity to become a member of RUSS by buying a £1 share which gives them a vote on the decision making board. Individuals can buy more shares but do not receive more votes. RUSS have an active membership of over 800 members, running education and outreach programmes. The level of organisation has also grown significantly, hiring consultants and employing staff, while continuing to be volunteer-run and maintaining open member meetings.

Site 
The group became aware of a vacant site, which had previously been used as a special needs primary school, at Church Grove in 2013 and asked the Council to consider a community-led self-build project. The Council eventually sought a non-profit community-led development partner through an OJEU process which prioritised proposals for their affordability and approach to community involvement. RUSS Community Land Trust (CLT) were selected to enter into a development agreement and 250 year lease in 2016. This arrangement gives the council certainty that the scheme is legally bound to delivering these social outcomes, which gave confidence to take less than best consideration for the site thereby allowing homes to be significantly cheaper than others in the area, whilst their affordability will be protected in perpetuity by the Trust.

Finance
RUSS received an early stage grant from the GLA to develop their proposals and hire consultants. RUSS worked with Triodos Corporate Finance to set out a viable budget and cash flow forecast. Loan finance from social investors will pay for the construction of the homes and after completion, will be repaid by the residents entering shared equity homes via mortgages they secure. A long-term loan will be required to cover the remainder which will be paid for by the income generated by the properties for rent. Resident assessments are carried out by the Parity Trust, a charity who helps people on low incomes into home ownership. They assess proposed residents’ needs with their ability to raise a deposit and ensure they can sustain mortgage repayments or rent along with bills, service charges and council tax.

Design and Construction
A guiding principle for the organisation is that residents should be involved in the design and construction of the project and create opportunities for project management and building training. After dealing with issues of contamination and flood risk, RUSS received planning permission in 2018 and the project at Church Grove is planned to start on site in 2019. The scheme will include 33 homes which range from one to four bedroom properties as well as a community hall, office and kitchen to accommodate community meetings, performances and childcare. They recently crowdfunded for a self-build community space which will become a sustainable construction demonstration project. Once built, the RUSS School of Community Led Housing will run workshops to pass on their acquired knowledge to others looking to start their own community led housing projects.

 
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RUSS consultation

Citizens House, London CLT

Initiated by the local community, 11 new homes will be built on a garage site in Sydenham and existing residents will be involved in the process. The homes will be genuinely affordable and protected in perpetuity. 

Number of homes 11 genuinely affordable homes
Location Sydenham
Stage Built 2023

How they formed
Lewisham Citizens, part of the Citizens UK charity, held an assembly with 400 people before the local elections in 2014 and persuaded the then Mayor of Lewisham, Sir Steve Bullock, to work with local people to deliver Community Land Trust homes in the borough. After extensive community site walks and a local membership drive, Lewisham Citizens brought in London CLT to discuss specific potential sites with the Council. They also engaged with residents and neighbours, and gradually built up a Residents Steering Committee to help with the plans.

Site
Having considered a report to Mayor and Cabinet in 2016, the council agreed that a small area to the rear of the Brasted Close estate should be declared surplus to the Council’s requirements and that officers work with London CLT for a period of twelve months to develop a fully affordable housing scheme for the site. Out of the 17 garages on the site, only 4 were let to residents of the estate. The Council wrote to all garage tenants advising them of the proposal and informing them of other garage locations. Given the proximity of the site to secure tenants, the council also carried out a statutory S105 consultation about the potential sale of the site to build new homes. In addition to the statutory consultation, officers also wrote to leaseholders on the estate. There was only one respondent expressed concern which the designs seek to address.

Affordability
Community Land Trusts (CLTs) are a way of providing genuinely and permanently affordable new homes either for rent or low-cost ownership. They can be used to address the growing gap between people who qualify for social housing and people who can afford to buy their own home.

The CLT homes at Brasted Close will be for sale, priced according to local earnings, ensuring that local people are able to live in the local area. ‘Local earnings’ are taken as the average of median incomes using data published by the Office for National Statistics. Based on 2016 figures, the estimated price of a CLT home is around 40-50% of the full market value in the area. Although the scheme is receiving some grant funding from the GLA, these values are primarily achieved because the land value is effectively locked in to the trust in perpetuity through resale price covenants in individual leases, and governance mechanisms to ensure these are not varied.

Design
Lewisham Citizens held open meetings in late summer 2016 to discuss aspirations and fears about the scheme and to set the criteria for selecting architects. Several architects presented to residents at a ‘pick the architect’ event in September 2016. Residents chose Archio as their preferred architects. Archio spoke to residents on site to begin the design process. Approximately 30 residents and 48 students and staff from the neighbouring school attended. The community engagement has allowed Archio to develop a scheme addressing the key concerns raised by residents around pedestrian access, overlooking, height, privacy and parking. Planning permission was granted in April 2019, and construction started in 2021.

Who will live there
It is anticipated that the homes will be very popular. There is a clear allocations policy and process developed with the council focused around:

  • Those priced out of the housing market but able to afford a London CLT home
  • Those require a property more suitable than their current accommodation
  • Those with a minimum of five years’ connection to the borough
  • Those who belong to and participate in the local community
  • Members of London CLT

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architects: Archio   photos: French & Tye

Marklake Court

A new community-led development of council rent homes shows how allowing residents to take a lead can provide new housing on existing estates and result in positive outcomes for all.

Number of homes 27 homes at council-rent levels
Location Bermondsey
Project Stage Built 2018

How they formed
The Leathermarket Joint Management Board (JMB) was set up by elected estate residents and has carried out housing services with borough funding and other support since 1996, securing a democratic mandate every 5 years. It now looks after around 1500 council-owned homes with tenants and leaseholders, mostly spread across a group of small estates covering five tenant association areas. The JMB established a Community Benefit Society (CBS) with Community Land Trust rules in 2014 to bring forward genuinely affordable homes for the community, following a housing needs assessment of residents.

Site
Tenants and Residents on the Kipling Estate, many of whom were overcrowded, identified the site which contained 12 unused garages. It was ideal for this development as it was small, within the JMB’s management area, and closely bordering the homes of existing residents. Southwark Council retained the freehold but transferred the site to the Leathermarket CBS on a long lease, allowing the community to lead the project and manage the completed building.

Funding and Affordability
Community Right to Build funding from the GLA was used to carry out neighbourhood planning, consultation, and site identification across the area, and then to take the Marklake Court project to planning stage. Southwark Council met the construction costs as part of its council home building programme. The rents are slightly higher than existing rents on the estate, as they are calculated in terms of current day rateable values. Although they are slightly lower than London Affordable Rent levels.

Design and Construction
The CBS chose Igloo Community Builders as a development manager to inform their approach and assist in the development. Architects Bell Phillips and Igloo Community Builders were asked to make the wishes of Kipling residents integral to the project from very early on, holding several meetings with residents, along with walking tours of the area in order to understand what people wanted in terms of building height, materials, and design details that chimed with older nearby buildings they liked.
There was a real effort to integrate resident comments into the plans or explaining where things were not possible. Southwark Council gave planning permission to a mixture of one, two and three-bedroom flats within two blocks five and seven storeys high in 2015, and construction was completed in 2018.

Who will live there
A formal housing needs assessment was conducted during the neighbourhood planning phase. Kipling households who were either overcrowded or under-occupying were prioritised for the new homes through a Local Lettings Policy. This not only gave residents the chance to move somewhere more suitable in terms of space (“right-sizing”), and maintain local connections with neighbours and friends, but also to be at the heart of the development of their new homes. Knowing the new homes would be for existing estate residents made them more acceptable to neighbours, with a further knock-on benefit that their previous homes were made available for people on the council waiting list.

Marklake Court handover - Photo © Joel Chant
© Joel Chant

What’s next
The Leathermarket CBS is continuing to work with Southwark Council on the gradual intensification of their estates with an identified pipeline of schemes. They recently completed another 40 homes at the former Joseph Lancaster nursery working with residents on the Lawson Estate, and in partnership with Southwark Council. There are two further projects in planning at the moment.

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Hazelhurst Court

Phoenix Community Housing, a resident-led non-mutual housing organisation, have completed their first development of 60 one and two-bed extra care homes for affordable rent next to their existing properties for older people, freeing up some of their larger properties.

Number of homes 60 extra-care homes at affordable rent
Location Bellingham
Project Stage Built 2017

How they formed
Phoenix Community Housing was created in 2007 as the first community gateway in London and one of just four in the UK. The community gateway model was developed by the Confederation of Co-operative Housing, Co-operatives UK and the Chartered Institute of Housing to give tenants more control of their communities.
They were transferred ownership of 6,500 homes in Bellingham and Downham from Lewisham Council. As a non-mutual society, they are controlled by more than 2,500 shareholding residents, whilst allowing non-members to be tenants as well. The model empowers tenants and leaseholders to take a central part in decision-making as shareholding members. Tenants and leaseholders elected by residents are the largest group on the management board. The chair and vice chair of the board are both tenants.
All residents are encouraged to get involved to influence services and future priorities. Phoenix support local community initiatives to improve the environment and quality of life and are consistently named one of the best landlords in the UK.

Site
In 2014, Phoenix Community Housing identified an opportunity to provide new homes for their older residents on an underused, but constrained site, adjacent to a 1960s block of flats. This will in turn free up larger homes for local families. As their first new build development, Phoenix were keen to set a high standard for others in the pipeline.

Funding and Affordability
The project was funded by Phoenix’s own borrowing facility with grant funding from the GLA and Lewisham Council. Rent for a 1 bed home is around £166 per week, and there are further service charges and costs to cover extra care services.

Design and Construction
As a resident-led organisation, Phoenix engaged extensively with existing and new residents. Many of the discussions at consultation events informed elements of the design by Levitt Bernstein Architects, which has won several awards.
The building works with the tight plot and adjoins the existing block to form a horseshoe with two new courtyards, one enclosed and intimate and another more open and green, connected by a new garden room, providing a light-filled communal space. All homes are dual aspect and accessed via outdoor galleries. Planters and seats in front of kitchen windows allow for personal gardening and socialising. The brick lattice screens in front of entrance doors provide a degree of privacy, whilst balcony details reference the 1960’s building next door.

Living there
The extra care apartments have been specifically designed around the needs of older people who wish to remain independent in a home of their own. Around two thirds of residents will require some personal care, for some this will be minimal, while others may need a higher level of care.
There are care and support staff on site 24/7. The staff also work with residents to develop social, recreational and educational activities open to both residents and older people living locally. The scheme also has communal areas, including a catering kitchen and dining area, activity room, garden room, lounge area and a shared courtyard garden.
The homes are available for Lewisham residents over 55 in need of the care available at the scheme. Existing Phoenix tenants looking to downsize are prioritised to free up larger properties for others.

What’s next
Phoenix have an active pipeline of developments, and recently completed Springbank Court.

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