Recently we held an online event to bring people together who are interested in or involved in community led housing organisations. Speakers from three different groups from across London told their stories about how their groups had come together, how they were managed and financed, and how they were starting to see their ideas come to fruition.
Presenting at the event were Ameen, a founding member of Zahra Housing Co-operative in Harrow; Cathie, a member of London Older Lesbian Cohousing, founded in 2016; and Jack, a Trustee of Forest CLT, a membership organisation based in Waltham Forest, founded by local residents in 2018.
Following presentations from each of the panellists, audience members were invited to ask questions and join a discussion about the projects including lessons learned, advice and tips on a range of issues including funding, management and membership.
Watch a recording of the event here:
More information about the speakers:
Ameen
Ameen is a founding member of Zahra Housing Cooperative, a group of families in Harrow looking for affordable intergenerational housing. Their collective experience of living in private rented housing has been disempowering. They are looking for a long term, secure alternative and we have been supporting them with their proposal to build three homes on a small garage site in Harrow.
Cathie
Cathie is a member of The London Older Lesbian Cohousing. The group was founded in 2016 when founding member Jude Watson was chatting with friends about how they wanted to live together as they got older. 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.
Jack
Jack is a Trustee of Forest CLT, a membership organisation founded by local residents in 2018 with the mission of creating truly affordable, community-led housing and sustainable communities in Waltham Forest. They want to build homes that local people really can afford and create community spaces that are there for everyone to use.