community led housing london

current

Crystal Palace CLT

Crystal Palace CLT is made up of local people who aim to acquire land to provide affordable homes, workspace and other community assets in consultation with local residents.

Following Croydon Council’s release of a small site for community led housing, the Crystal Palace Transition Town Community came together to establish a Community Land Trust (CLT). The Transition Town network is a movement addressing community issues and promoting sustainable ways of living.

They were selected preferred bidders for The Lawns site in Upper Norwood with an environmental scheme at discounted market sale and community gardens. The journey has been complicated due to challenges faced by Croydon Council stalling progress, but after 4 years of hard work from volunteers, supported by CLH London advisers, the planning proposal for their first development at The Lawns has gone live.

The Community Land Trust volunteers worked closely with the community, and their architects, Archio, to develop a design listening to feedback. They came up with proposals which include 7 homes on a site that the council’s arms-length developer had considered too difficult.

The project also improves the turning head at the end of the road with 7 car parking spaces, and a landscaped green area which promotes biodiversity and community gardening.

The CLT plans to offer these homes at below 70% of market value, as they are a non-profit organisation, and any surplus from the community land trust project will go towards discounted sales prices and other community projects.

The Trust is also committed to combining sustainability and affordability. The new homes will be built to high environmental standards to reduce the impact on the planet, making them easier to heat in winter and to keep cool in summer, thereby helping to reduce energy bills for residents.

 

How we’re helping
We supported initial incorporation and provided funding to review the viability and legal structure of the project. We have helped with getting architects and project managers on board and advised on community engagement. After working with the council’s development managers for a period, we helped the group recruit their own development manager. Our advisers have provided ongoing mentoring in shaping the development and agreeing a land transaction and development agreement.

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Cohousing Harrow

A group of families and individuals looking to build a supportive, mixed tenure cohousing community in Harrow.

They have been meeting regularly to establish their shared objectives and have a desire for a scheme of 20-25 homes. They have been researching different incorporation options, including Mutual Home Ownership by attending training and workshops.

How we’re helping
We have held workshops to clarify their membership and prioritise their objectives and have held seminar/training sessions to look at outline schemes, indicative costs, and the financial capacity of the group. We are now beginning to support a more systematic search for sites.

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Brent CLT

Affordable housing by the community for the community.

Brent CLT was established in response to the lack of local affordable housing across Brent, when the Harlesden Neighbourhood Forum originally included a commitment to explore community-led housing locally in their Neighbourhood Plan.

A steering group identified a development site in collaboration with Brent Council. They recruited more members and volunteers from across the borough, and developed a functional brief through a series of capacity studies and workshops.

The site lends itself to a modular or pre-fabricated construction, which it is hoped will minimise construction costs. They are looking at a rented scheme aimed at homeless single people and couples, and are looking for more members to join locally and get involved.

How we’re helping
We facilitated meetings on organisational structure and have supported work on project vision and viability. There has been funding from the council for a project coordinator, and we are helping to assemble the professional team, and explore modern methods of construction, as the concept is formalised.

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Zahra Housing Co-op

Zahra are a fully mutual housing co-op looking to build affordable homes suitable for multi-generational living. Several generations living together can bring many social benefits including help with childcare as well as health and wellbeing benefits for older relatives.

As private renters, they have found most rented properties on the market unsuitable for such larger families, and are also looking for stability and security of tenure.

Zahra attended several workshops held by Harrow Council, and registered the co-op to explore community led housing on small sites in the borough. The co-op intends to be responsible for the construction and maintenance of the homes.

How we’re helping
We have been working to clarify options and their implications and helping Zahra commission financial modelling and capacity studies on a small redundant garage site. We helped pull this together into a business plan clarifying governance. This was well received by the council, who gained cabinet approval for the principle of transferring a number of sites for CLH projects.

We supported Zahra in the selection of their professional team and have had pre-application meetings to help in refining the scheme with further detail. The designs produced by Civic introduce 4 homes respecting nearby trees and continuing the building line to create two small courtyards. A scheme improving parking for neighbouring residents, was recently submitted for planning permission.

We have also led conversations on finance and viability and the practicalities of RP status. We have devised an innovative low deposit Shared Ownership tenure, with a cap on maximum staircasing to ensure the homes remain affordable in perpetuity.

 

Read Zahra’s blog on inter-generational living

London Older Lesbian Cohousing

LOLC are working on a mutually supportive mixed-tenure cohousing project in north-east London, future proofing the homes for their changing needs. Stonewall’s ‘Building Safe Choices’ report found older LGBT people are more likely to be single, live alone and rely on external services due to lack of informal support. The culture of retirement and sheltered homes can be isolating and LOLC intend to create an inclusive and safe space, contributing to innovative approaches to ageing.

The group are working in partnership with a large Housing Association to build around 20 units of which 25-30% will be affordably rented, with the remainder available under the Older People’s Shared Ownership scheme or bought outright.

The co-founders met to research and develop the idea before holding their first public meeting in April 2016. There are currently 19 members, who pay a £10 monthly contribution for travel, printing and room hire costs. LOLC are a Company Limited by Guarantee in which all full members are directors with voting rights. New members go through a joining process before becoming a full member. Decisions are made by consensus and the roles of Chair and Secretary are rotated, while the Treasurer is a fixed role.

How we’re helping
LOLC attended our launch event in 2017 where they met housing associations, social investors and architects. They worked with our associate adviser Maria Brenton to engage potential partners and developed a positive relationship with L&Q around a site in Waltham Forest. We have since supported their dialogues with L&Q as landowner and enabling developer, and Womens Pioneer HA as landlord of the affordable homes.

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