community led housing london

Waltham Forest

Sycamore Housing

A group living in the private rented sector and working towards a long-term housing solution.

They aim to have secure, affordable homes, combining personal autonomy with communal elements like shared space, decision making and facilities.

Several members are active in housing campaigns such as the London Renters’ Union and are motivated by collective ownership of property, rather than seeing it as an asset. They want to create a future community of 10 households in North East London with a caring and supportive environment and where residents are democratically in control.

They are incorporated as a Mutual Home Ownership Society which allows the accumulation of acquiring equity shares as part of monthly payments.

How we’re helping
We have provided advice and supported incorporation and proposals for sites in LB Waltham Forest.

Cohousing London East

A small group looking at building a mixed tenure, inter-generational, eco-community in North East London.

The group have a mix of ages, skills and ethnicities, brought together by shared values and ideals. They hope to build a community where they can live in affordable well-designed homes with others who share that desire. Some members have been researching and networking for some time, and are beginning to develop a group looked at decision-making methods such as sociocracy.

How we’re helping
We are helping clarify objectives, and have previously put them in contact with an interested developer about a site in Lea Bridge.

Visit their Facebook page

Fountain Self Build Group

Fountain Self Build Group was established in 2015, by group of Waltham Forest residents in overcrowded households. Their aim is to create a sustainable community of social and genuinely affordable rented homes, meeting the needs of the self-build group.

Inspired by the Headway Self Build project, the group are looking to partner with a housing association who could forward-fund the scheme and build homes to a watertight shell. Members would then self-finish the scheme with last-fix carpentry and decorating and have approached a local college to collaborate with on the training.

How we’re helping
We have provided Adviser sessions about their approach, and explored the possibility of a relationship with Clarion and other partners.

Visit their facebook page

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.

Visit their website

 

Headway Self Build

The Headway Self Build Collective are Clarion Housing Association residents who came together to build their own homes on a disused garage site. A contractor built the structural shell and residents finished with joinery, fixtures and fittings.
 

Number of homes 10 rented
Location Walthamstow
Project Stage Built 2015

How they formed
In 2006, founding member John Struthers spoke with residents on neighbouring housing estates, put an ad in the local newspaper and leafleted homes to see who might be interested in a self build scheme. A group of twenty people came forward, many of whom were in overcrowded council flats and assessed by Waltham Forest Council to be in housing need but were unlikely to be eligible for re-housing in the foreseeable future. With the help of the Community Self-Build Agency (CSBA), they persuaded Circle 33 Housing Trust (now Clarion Housing Association) and the local authority to support a self-build scheme.

Site
The disused garage site was owned by Circle 33 and surrounded by the back gardens of neighbouring houses. The housing association had sought planning permission for affordable housing on three occasions which were all unsuccessful for reasons that included over development, loss of off-street parking and inadequate vehicular access. Because of this, they were prepared to take a different approach.

Finance
The group did not want wish to take on the financing and development risk of the project and remain Circle 33 residents. The site and homes remain in ownership of the housing association and residents pay social rent. Circle 33 included the project in their first Affordable Homes Programme, which means the scheme is part funded by the Greater London Authority.

Design and Construction
The Community Self-Build Agency recommended a ‘shell and fit out’ development whereby a contractor builds the structural shell of the houses and the self-builders carry out second fix carpentry and carrying out decorations. The composition of the group required a mix of 2, 3 and 4 bedroom houses including an accessible home for a wheelchair user. Jon Broome Architects produced three options for ten homes on the site and the group decided on a cul-de-sac arrangement with private front and back gardens.

Circle 33’s Project Managers negotiated a design and build contract with Kind & Co, a local contractor who built the infrastructure and conventional prefabricated timber-framed brick-clad shells for the two-storey houses. Waltham Forest College provided training in basic construction for the self-builders as well as tutors and apprentices to work on site. It took two years for all the planning applications, plans, transport studies, local consultations, designs and contracts to be agreed before they started on site in November 2014.

 

image copyright Nigel Howard