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established

Ham Wharf Mooring Co-op

September 17, 2023

Phoenix Place Coproduction

August 26, 2023

We developed a model for community-led decision-making to build trust and a positive working relationship between CDS Co-operatives and residents at Phoenix Place, helped deliver improvements to green spaces as a way to bring people together and build community on the estate.

Working in Coproduction
This project trialed a new way for CDS Co-operatives to relate to its residents in order to improve outcomes for everyone involved. CDS residents and staff were supported by CLH London to work together to make decisions on the future of the estate, through a process known as coproduction – “a relationship where professionals and citizens share power to plan and deliver support [or services] together, recognising that both have vital contributions to make.” Central to the project was the establishment of a resident panel that was tasked with advising CDS on the improvements to be made to the estate. The panel was selected to ensure representation of the wider estate on identifiers such as age, gender, tenure and where they live on the estate. Typically, the panel would be selected at random and then disbanded after the project. In this case however, additional participants were invited to join a pre-existing group.

Outcomes
Throughout the process the resident panel were supported to make informed decisions on what improvements to make and who would be best placed to carry them out. This support included facilitated workshops to identify and prioritise collective needs and ambitions, as well as helping to understand detailed information on budgets, service charges, health and safety etc. As a result, a set of clear, achievable actions were proposed.

In addition to the Action Plan, a number of unintended outcomes resulted from the project. These include:

  • Improved relationships:  Better relationships between CDS staff and residents.
  • Shared responsibilities: Collaboration between residents, CDS staff and external contractors has led to a sharing of responsibilities in areas such as maintenance of plants and shrubs and access to the shared gardens. Any efficiencies depend on sustained voluntary commitment of residents.
  • Increased awareness: In designing proposals that were realistic and achievable, residents gained new knowledge on issues such as services charges, maintenance budgets, statutory requirements and health & safety. This enables them to collaborate effectively with staff and contractors and to better understand and contribute to future decision-making.
  • Phoenix Place Green Spaces Group: A volunteer group of residents have taken on responsibility for implementing and maintaining improvements to green spaces and supporting other residents to get involved.

Nubia Way

July 20, 2022

A self-build co-operative who built 13 sustainable timber frame homes in the 1990s.

Number of homes 13 social rented homes
Location Downham, Lewisham
Completed on site 1997

Fusions Jameen was a self-build co-operative where prospective residents organised the construction work and physically built their own homes, acting as contractors for CHISEL Housing Association, who took ownership of completed homes, and offered discounted social rents in return for self-builder residents’ labour.

Construction was based on the timber frame method pioneered by architect Walter Segal, although it had to be updated to meet more recent construction standards. The houses incorporate energy saving features and environmentally-healthy specifications.

As well as Nubia Way, Fusions Jameen built several other schemes.
Find out more here and through this recent film.

Brockley Tenants Co-operative

January 4, 2021

An established housing co-operative seeking to expand and adapt to the changing needs of their residents.

Brockley Tenants’ Co-operative has been in existence for forty years as a Registered Provider and owns 90 units across Lewisham.

Having paid off most of their mortgages, they are now looking to expand their housing stock to provide more social housing for those in need. This expansion will also allow them to adapt to the changing needs of their elderly residents, some of whom are no longer suited to their existing housing stock.

How we’re helping:

We are supporting Brockley Tenants with long term business planning to establish what they can do without putting existing homes at risk.

 
Visit their web page

Photograph by Peter Brooker

Edward Henry House Co-op

October 6, 2019

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