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Otherwise Living

October 6, 2018

Otherwise Living is a multistakeholder co-operative with a vision for sustainable urban living to create a healthy, self managed neighbourhood, based in Queens Park.

Their vision is of small private living spaces integrated with large and varied community spaces for many purposes with people of different generations and skills living together. This becomes a place for self-determined living bringing together food, learning, homespaces, smallfunds, wellbeing and workspace.

Otherwise Living aims to create a distinct sense of neighbourhood, which is integrated into the surrounding local area, and explores alternatives to consumerism and over-consumption, while expanding the notions of family, education, community and neighbourhood.

How we’re helping
We will be providing advice on a greater focus on the project scope, finances, and deliverability.

 
Visit their old website

Brent CLT

October 6, 2018

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.

Visit their website

Zahra Housing Co-op

October 6, 2018

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

Greenstreet Hill

October 4, 2018

A self-build housing co-operative built in timber frame, around a communal garden, in the early 1990s.

Number of homes 11 affordable units
Location Brockley
Completed on site 1993

Group

CHISEL Housing Association helped to facilitate the formation of a housing co-operative, and supported the establishment of the project. The co-operative members were actively involved in selecting architects and the designs of the project. They had to contribute a certain number of hours to the construction of the project every week, alongside formal employment or other duties, as a condition of the affordable housing grant.

The original residents organised the construction work and physically built their own homes, learning a great deal through the process.

Site
The site off Drakefell Road in Brockley was originally owned by the Council, but had not been used for council housing by the 1990s. As a relatively small site it was available for development.

Design
Car parking is provided in one part of site, leaving the rest of the site available to group houses around a shared garden space in the middle of the site. Access to individual homes increases the chance of bumping into neighbours and building a strong sense of community.

The houses were designed in close consultation with the group and individuals. Variations to the basic layout were easily achievable as the wall elements are independent of the structural frame.

Construction
The simple timber frame method was pioneered by architect Walter Segal on self-build schemes in the early 1980s, although it has had to be developed and updated to meet more recent construction standards. It has been particularly suitable for people without previous building experience as it makes economical use of ‘off the shelf’ materials, detailed to require as little cutting as possible, while keeping the construction process largely ‘on-site’.

The structure uses small pad foundations at the foot of each post. This allows development close to mature trees without expensive retaining structures. The houses incorporate energy saving features and environmentally-healthy specifications.

Chippenham Housing Co-op

October 2, 2018

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